


The Hands Speak, The Eyes Listen

by superna_tau_ral91



Series: Hands [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, American Sign Language, Architectural Designer!Newt, Boba, British Sign Language, Corny title is kinda corny, Deaf Character(s), F/F, Gen, Graphic Designer!Thomas, Korean Sign Language, M/M, Minor Deaf Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, Sign Language, this is a bit of a slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7983070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superna_tau_ral91/pseuds/superna_tau_ral91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a new location for work and a fresh start for Thomas with his life. Really though, adulting can be hard sometimes (if not most times).</p><p>But there's something about this one cafe that lessens his worries. And it's not because it's the first time he's been introduced to a such an exotic and tasty drink that he really enjoys it..</p><p>It's because of someone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Meeting of Two Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is something of a small personal project I'd like to do... and to bring my contributions to the Maze Runner pool of fanfictions with my own flair. Some of the authors whose works I've read here in AO3 had rekindled my drive to write a fanfiction once again. (And it's not just in the Maze Runner fandom, it's also in the Supernatural fandom as well lol.)
> 
> UPDATE: Go get that ASL note chapter I posted in case for reference to reading the dialogues. Or click [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7983064)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas makes a friend.

**Teresa:** _Come on, Tom; it’ll be fine! You’ve already met Newt and he’s not so bad once you get to know him as your roommate. Besides, remember I told you, even Alby thinks the two of you will get along very well after Newt told us about his tour with you._

 **Thomas:** _If the two of you say so… Come over when you’re done with classes?_

 **Teresa:** _Duh. What kind of sister do you take me for? And what are you doing right now? Like are you at the door or anywhere near your new apartment?_

 **Thomas:** _I’m in the elevator, about to get off on my floor. Cus._ _\m/

 **Teresa:** _143 too~ Tell Newt I said hi!_

The conversation between Thomas and his younger sister, Teresa, were running through the male’s head as he stood outside in the hallway, in front of his soon-to-be shared apartment. A few of his bags and boxes that he carried himself were placed near the doorframe to avoid blocking the double-loaded corridor. There were a few other boxes en route to his apartment via his friend’s car.

Thomas lets out a soft exhale. This afternoon was a bit of a hectic time with working things out with the apartment office and finding a parking spot in the underground lot. “Well, here’s to a new life and a fresh change of scenery,” he mutters to himself before retrieving his keys from his pocket.

As a newly hired graphic designer, his workplace is in downtown and the apartment where he had previously lived was a bit of a drive. Thankfully, Teresa found him a place to rent through her circle of friends that was much closer to downtown. He trusted her judgment of friends, because he was never too comfortable with his friends, sometimes doubtful despite their good intentions.

When he turns the knob and pushes open the door, his hearing aids pick up a noise of “Oy, hello, Thomas! You’re here!” amidst the orchestral classical music playing in the air, before he caught sight of his roommate-to-be grinning as a blond-haired male wipes down the counter of the kitchen island.

“H-hi,” Thomas replies back with a smile and a tinge of nervousness in his voice, before he bends to pick up some of his bags, with a quick mental note to take the heavier bags, and walks in.

Thomas had met Newt a few weeks back when he showed up to get a little tour and some thorough inspections of the apartment. The host was friendly and warm, and he was considerate of Thomas’ well-being; he maintained eye contact with Thomas most of the time while describing the state of his (their) apartment, and he never spoke too fast nor too slow for Thomas to read his lips. Admittedly, Thomas found Newt’s British accent somewhat difficult to understand, but with his gesticulations, the messages were made clear in Thomas’ mind.

Newt is a member of Teresa’s close group of friends, having met her in college, with a three year difference (and a difference in majors). He has already graduated college and is working as an architectural designer at a local downtown firm. One of their mutual friends is Alby, three years her senior.

Thomas and Teresa went to the same high school with Alby, Thomas being a junior and Teresa being a freshman. Although Alby and Thomas never really hung out in their high school, they knew of each other through friends and reputations; Alby being not only one of the top students in his year but also known for being the popular yet humble student, and then Thomas being one of the most creative and diligent students

Thomas was one of the few Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing students in his year, and Alby had only been able to acknowledge him in their last year together, due to the former’s ambivert nature. Thomas usually hung out with his DHH classmates since they mostly grew up together in similar schools, but even he had his few select hearing friends from school and from the neighborhood.

 _A roommate who is a friend of my sister and a boyfriend of my school friend…some kind of degree of separation this is,_ thinks Thomas.

The silence falls upon them almost immediately as Newt pauses his iPod music player, located on the island counter. “You’ve got other moving stuff outside there, yeah? I’ll help you bring those in,” Newt assures him, having just finished cleaning the counter, before he tosses the damp paper towel and washes his hands. “Looking forward to good times with you, mate!” He chuckles as he walks over with a slight limp in his steps, and gives a gentle pat on Thomas’ shoulder.

“Me too. Thanks, Newt.” Thomas inwardly cringes at how frank he was with his replies, even if he is slightly smiling, but it could not be helped with his nature and the task at hand. He makes his way to his new bedroom.

The apartment has a simple layout for two bedrooms, each placed on either side of the apartment, and a common area in the middle. In the common area, the kitchen with an island is the first area upon entering the apartment. There is no dining table, as the island counter is enough for the dining area. There is also a spacious living room with a balcony attached on the far right side of the apartment. Newt’s master bedroom is on the right side as well, with its bath and closet hidden behind the wall of the living room. Thomas’ bedroom is on the opposite side of the apartment, where there is a small dead-end corridor for two doors and a space for the washer and dryer. The left door leads to the bathroom whereas the right door leads to Thomas’ new bedroom. It is through that door Thomas enters in and drops his bags near his built-in closet.

Giving a look around, the bedroom is exactly as how he remembered seeing it last when he was taking a small tour. It is no master bedroom, but the room was spacious and the placement of the furniture had made the room look a little disarrayed to his taste. At that time, he had mentally rearranged the furniture to suit to his taste should he take on the offer to be Newt’s roommate. Now, he is finally given the chance to do so physically, and reminds himself to do it once his stuff is inside.

He almost bumps into Newt on his way out. “Oh! Er, sorry, here, come on in,” Thomas hastily steps aside to let his roommate enter his bedroom, feeling oddly awkward with himself. Newt shoots him a grin that does not really ease Thomas of his nerves, but his adamant personality signals Thomas that they will have to get used to being up in each other’s spaces often.

“There we go…” Newt announces as he carefully drops the bags near the rest. “You still have a few things left outside, but I assume that’s not all of it?”

“No, erm…my friend is driving over with the rest in his car. There will be food in some of those bags… He should be arriving later this evening.”

“Ah, good thing it’s a Saturday. Traffic would have been hell.” Newt snickers with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah…heh, at least we have the metro system around here. It’s a blessing.” Thomas walks back to the entrance where the rest of his stuff wait to be picked up, and Newt makes his way back to the kitchen.

Once Thomas has settled with the stuff in his bedroom, he joins Newt at the kitchen. He catches his roommate looking a little nervous and studying him with an indescribable look in his eyes.

“…What?” Thomas widens his eyes, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. It seems to shake Newt out of his thoughts, as his body gives a slight jolt accompanied with a blink of his eyes.

“W-well…it’s just…I was wondering if you…ah, this might sound weird at this time,” Newt brings a hand to comb through his dirty blond hair, “but since we’re roommates and all, I was wondering how much can you hear without your hearing aids, if you don’t mind me asking?” He shrugs with one shoulder.

 _Oh…it’s one of those questions,_ Thomas thinks to himself with a small terse smile.

Newt rambles on before Thomas can even begin to reply. “I mean, I knew from your sister that you hear with your hearing aids and from Alby, he told me you didn’t seem to talk much back in high school, only listen a lot. It was not a problem at all when I heard from your sister that you read lips a lot, and I’m totally fine with open communication. And you know sign language, your sister said. The two of you do.” Thomas raises his eyebrows at these lines, and nods without hesitation.

“I thought about bringing this up last time we met, but I didn’t know whether you felt it appropriate to answer, because I’m afraid this apartment doesn’t really have much to help for someone like…you? Technology-wise, I mean, like with the doorbells and alarms… I’m just wondering how you will know if someone’s at the door, or an alarm goes off, if I’m not here? Other than using your phone…” Breaking eye contact, Newt thrums the island counter with his fingers as he lets out a breath. “Wow, I apologize, that was quite…a mouthful.”

The brown-haired male takes this moment to process the rambling and thinks back to the first question. “Well, uh, first of all,” he chuckles lightly, “it’s not any trouble to ask me since we are going to be roommates. Without my hearing aids, let’s see…I…really can’t hear much, even with the volume of voices at conversational level, unless I stand super close to you. But there are loud, low-pitched noises that I can detect but not know where they’re from, unless I’m familiar with them, like an airplane. Soft noises fly right by my ears, with or without my hearing aids, so whisperings and such are out of the question.”

“Technically, I am profoundly deaf, but there are times where I can still detect noises because I’ve heard them with my hearing aids when I was growing up, and my brain actually memorizes and let me pick up certain noises without my use of hearing aids.” He takes note of how Newt is actively listening by the slight frown of concentration on his face.

“As for the technology, don’t worry, I have just the equipment. It’ll only take up a couple of outlets and it’ll go together with my multi-functional alarm clock. My alarm clock is my reliable source of alerts, so my lamps and or this apartment’s lighting system will notify me whoever is at the door or any loud noises like the fire alarm.”

“Ah, really? I didn’t know such a thing existed… That sounds real neat, Thomas.” Newt smiles warmly. “Of course, I’m here to help out too, but whatever that helps you get by as well.

“And uh…” the British male gives a little roll of his head, a wry smile on his lips, “I made your sister promise not to tell you this at all, but I actually know sign language” – Thomas widens his eyes in gleeful surprise – “but it’s not American Sign Language…” Thomas’ face falls almost immediately with a realization that hits him at the same time that Newt finishes his thought.

“British Sign Language, huh?”

“See, I know British Si…yeah…” Newt grins at the revelation. “My accent must’ve given you a clue about it. But, I’m afraid it’s not much like American Sign Language but I think we can find some common signs, whether conceptually or not. I’d be more than happy to teach you some BSL and we can communicate like so, whether here in our apartment or out there. I picked up a few ASL signs from Teresa but she told me it would be better to learn from you instead.” He chuckles. “I think this is going to be quite an awesome experience for the both of us, wouldn’t you agree?”

Thomas cannot help but smile and nod at that, thinking that indeed, this is going to be a beginning of a wonderful friendship.

“So uh…say if I were to do this…” Thomas speaks up with a sense of self-controlled giddiness. [HELLO MY NAME fs(THOMAS), NAME SIGN _^(WHAT)^_ ns(THOMAS). v(YOUR NAME WHAT YOU)v] _(Hi, my name is Thomas and this is my sign name. What’s your name?)_ “…would you kno-“

Newt’s hands interrupt Thomas before he could finish the rest of his sentence.

[HELLO MY NAME fs(NEWT), NAME SIGN ^(WHAT)^ ns(NEWT). NICE MEET-YOU] _(Hello, my name is Newt and this is my sign name. Nice to meet you.)_

[SAME] _(Likewise.)_ Thomas has a slightly impressed look on his face, noticing quickly that Newt is left-handed. “…Yep, you’re good,” Thomas says with a slight tone of amused defeat in his voice, chuckling. Newt joins in the laughter. “Say…Can you do it again with BSL?”

“Sure.” The blond-haired male says with a smile. {^(HELLO)^ NAME ME ^( _WHAT_ ) _^_ fs(NEWT), fs(NS) ns(NEWT). NICE MEET-YOU} _(Hello, my name is Newt, and this is my sign name. Nice to meet you.)_

Thomas blinks at the foreignness of Newt’s gesticulation. He had never seen BSL up close, or at all even. He is not too surprised that the structure is still similar.

“…Okay, I only got like three signs from that, and the rest was like whoosh.” At the sound effect, Thomas adds the sign [“FLY-BY-ME”].

His roommate chuckles. “The words ‘name’, ‘what’, and ‘nice’ are different, yeah.” He demonstrates the BSL signs for the three words. [NAME] has a gesture that is similar to a two-fingered salute, but the wrist rotates so that the fingers touching the left side of his forehead swing out when in forward motion; [WHAT] has a gesture similar to one wagging their index finger; and lastly, [NICE] has a fist with the thumb resting up against the side of the fist and, with the thumb, sliding it across Newt’s chin.

“Wow… ASL’s ‘where’ is just like BSL’s ‘what’,” Thomas notes mentally. _Oh boy, I feel like I’m gonna mess up with my sign language mindsets…_

“Wait a minute, did you use two hands to spell your name?” Thomas furrows his brow upon remembering the moment when Newt was assumingly spelling his name. He earns a nod in response and the repeated fingerspelling of Newt’s name.

A closed fist with index and middle fingers out, and the fingers rest on the other hand’s palm. N.

An index finger touches the other hand’s index finger. E.

Two hands interlock each other by the gaps between their fingers. W.

An index finger touches the side of the other’s palm. T.

“Holy crap, that’s a lot of work to know your letters…especially when it comes to fingerspelling words, even.”

“Hahaha, you get used to it. But it’s easy when you think about it conceptually.”

“Another time for you to teach me the alphabet, then.” Thomas smiles earnestly. “So what’s the story behind your sign name?” He mimics Newt’s sign name. The hand is shaped like how one would do a casual two-fingered salute, but the hand rocks back and forth on the right side of his head.

“Because I talk a lot and they come out like lectures,” Newt says good-heartedly, signing [LECTURE]. “And yours?” He does the same for Thomas’ sign name, in which the gesture is like a casual salute but with fingers splayed open except for the thumb, and wiggling the fingers as the hand moves away and back to the right side of his forehead.

“I’ve been known to think a lot and be creative as well…almost like daydreaming at times.” [PONDER, CREATIVE]

“Ahh, that makes sense.”

“So…wait, how did you even know BSL in the first place? Who gave you that sign name anyhow?”

“My younger brother, Aris. He’s Deaf.”

Thomas raises his eyebrows at the declaration. “You have a Deaf sibling? Did my sister know about this?”

“Yeah…it was actually how we became good friends, related on having a Deaf sibling.”

“That’s awesome…is he here in United States?”

“Nope, just me. My family’s rooted in the UK, Dover actually. My father had moved us here for work before I could start high school. Later on, I chose to stay here after I graduated high school, pursuing college, and my family went back home. I still visit them once or twice a year, but my brother plans to come back later in the year to attend college, although he hasn’t told me which one yet. I’d be a little concerned because the sign language is so different from BSL, and hopefully there are BSL interpreters in the US…though I kind of doubt it. This is United States of America, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sign name for Aris:  
> Aris has the “A” handshape (ASL) and swipes against the forehead and the corresponding temple of your head to your dominant hand. It is because of his short hair, as stated in the book series.  
> Cus = See you soon.  
> _\m/ = ILY handshape


	2. A Reunion

Thomas spends the rest of the afternoon unpacking, adorning part of their shared apartment as well as rearranging and decorating his bedroom, while Newt cooks up dinner for the two of them. Later in the evening, just when dinner is ready, Thomas sets the table for four, just in case their guests may be hungry.

 ** _BZZZT…BZZZT…BZZZT…BZZZT…_** Thomas’ eyes catch sight of his cellphone vibrating on the counter and the flashing alert for messages.

 ** _KNOCK KNOCK…_** A knock on the door is heard, and both Thomas and Newt look to the door.

 ** _BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP…BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP…_** The beeping from the oven makes the two guys turn their heads to the source before they look at each other, with looks of bemusement.

“Think it’s your friend?” leaves Newt’s lips and flies by Thomas’ ears, as the latter looks down at his phone, unintentionally oblivious to the question.

 ** _BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP…BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP…_** Not getting an immediate answer, Newt cracks a smile to himself and goes to turn off the oven and retrieve his cooking.

On the lock screen, Thomas sees two preview messages from his sister and from his other friend. He unlocks the phone to reply to both messages.

 **Teresa:** _KOFF KOFF._ ;P

 **Thomas:** _Lol, be there in a sec._

Thomas then checks the other message.

 **Quentin:** _Dude, I just parked in the guest lot, but I don’t know how to get inside the apartment block._

 **Thomas:** _It’s fine; I’ll come down in a minute._

“Teresa and my friend are here. Well, Teresa’s outside the door, but my other friend just parked at the guest lot,” Thomas gets up to go unlock the door and opens up to reveal Teresa leaning against the doorframe with a soft smile on her face. In her arms is a bottle of wine.

“Hey there, new roomie of Newt.” Thomas rolls his eyes amusingly at Teresa’s greeting.

“What, I’m not your brother anymore, Teresa?”

“Of course, you still are, silly. I’m just stating the fact that you’re now Newt’s new roommate.” Teresa goes to hug her brother, one hand still holding onto the wine bottle. “I’ve missed you; the last I saw you was like what, back when you came to see this apartment.”

“We’ve Facetimed…” He deadpans as they pull away from the embrace.

“That doesn’t count, and here’s your welcoming gift. It’s not much but what can you expect from a broke college student, huh?” Teresa giggles as she hands over the wine bottle to her brother.

“Aw, sis, you didn’t have to, but thank you.” He accepts the gift and observes the wine label. “Riesling, huh?”

“Yep.” Teresa lightly punches her brother’s arm. “Am I gonna stand out here or may I come in, Thomas?” She adds a curtsy at the end of her line.

“Oh right! Sorry, come on in, sis,” Thomas laughs as he steps aside to let her in.

“Hi Newt! What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”

“Hey, Tess!” Newt calls from behind Thomas, adding a chuckle at the end. “You’re just in time for dinner! I made chicken broccoli casserole.”

“Wait, Tess?” Thomas guffaws at his sister, “you actually like that nickname? I thought you hated it. Or is he like an exception?”

Teresa sticks out her tongue impishly as she made herself comfortable at the island counter. “It was Tessie that I hated, but Tess does just fine. Besides, it’s nice hearing it from someone like Newt, foreign and British especially. Nothing wrong with that,” she quips to her friend, “and Newt’s one of the few who calls me that without thinking.” She shrugs, looking a bit bemused.

“Yeah, I’ve got a few friends back in England with the same name as you, a lot of them prefer to be called Tess, and they all know each other. Strange, really, but it’s funny. Anyhow, I’m glad you thought of that wine bottle, since it is Thomas’ first night here in the apartment; I mean, we oughta celebrate with something nice, eh?” Newt sets the casserole on a corkboard coaster to let it rest.

“Of course! The casserole really smells amazing; Alby taught you well.” Teresa stares hungrily at the dish.

“Cheers, Tess.”

“Okay, but wait, Teresa, I cannot believe you knew Newt knew BSL…” Thomas has a slight look of astonishment.

[ **YES** ] “Yeepp. That, I did!” She has a cheeky grin on her face as she signed with a flourish of her hand.

{HEY…THINK DOWN-THERE OUTSIDE SEE ns(QUENTIN) DOWN-THERE. ^("TRUE-BIZ" HERE “?”)^} _(Also…I think I saw Quentin outside when I was in the elevator, is he actually here?)_

Just then, Newt is slightly surprised at the fluid entrance of the signing. He sees the sign name but wonders about its significance. It was a closed fist, with an index finger and thumb almost pinching twice at her eyebrow.

Thomas gives a few shaky nods in response. {nh(YES) HE VOLUNTEER ~(FOOD FROM OUR PARENTS THEIR HOUSE THERE)~ BRING-DOWN, PLUS OTHER THINGS sh(CANNOT “LOAD-IN" "FIT-IN”) MY CAR, SELF FULL} “Yeah, he volunteered to bring over some food from our parents’ home...and other things I couldn’t fit in my car.”

{“DUH-ME” *Teresa closes her eyes for a moment, her face scrunching up with a grimace*} “Crap, I feel bad, I thought I was dreaming that I saw him in the lot, but before I could do anything, the elevator closed on me.”

Thomas gives an unconcerned look. [HEY, FINE. I GO-DOWN ANYWAY ME. ^(YOU-TWO COME-WITH-ME]^ “?”] “It’s fine, I was gonna go down anyway. The two of you wanna come with?”

Teresa gives her brother a look of both indignation and amusement. [nh(“ **OF-COURSE”** )] “Of course! Why would I not want to say hi to our childhood neighbor?”

Thomas smiles and looks back at Newt, who gives a few agreeing nods.

“Ah, right. I almost forgot,” Thomas brings his hand to rub at his chin. “Quentin is Deaf…like with capital D. So, uh…do you…think you can handle ASL without us interpreting? I mean, we’ll try and interpret, but uh…” He stammers, his hands somewhat flailing in the airspace in front of him.

“Oh hey, yeah, no, don’t bother, Tommy. I’ll try to manage, but if I don’t understand something, I might ask you or Tess. Again, I only know a few ASL signs from what your sister taught me, like…and whatnot…” Newt fills in his brief silence with the signs he learned. [HELLO, MY NAME] “Besides, I might get the gist, who knows?”

Thomas nods approvingly before he remembers he caught a nickname. “Wait, Tommy?” He frowns.

Newt has a smirk and raises his eyebrow, “Problem?”

“N-no…I don’t think so, no…” Thomas shakes his head, looking a little out of it.

“And does this Quentin know who I am yet?”

“Oh…er…Not really? Just that you’d be my roommate and you’re a friend of Teresa’s. He’ll be surprised to find out that you know BSL, even if it’s not ASL. He’s a bit of an avid linguist, see. Maybe he might know some BSL.”

Newt smiles. “Good that…”

 

~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Thomas, Teresa, and Newt get off the elevator and step out of the apartment block, Thomas spots his friend leaning against his car, fumbling with his phone. As they walk towards him, Thomas bends a little lower to wave his hand in a medium-sweeping motion and slightly speeds up his pace.

When Thomas reaches a distance that is a little over ten feet, Quentin looks up from his phone and he beams at the sight of his friend, giving a little upward nod of his head.

“PAH!” [FINALLY! I STAND WAIT+ “LOOK-AT-PHONE” “GLANCE-AT-APARTMENT-PHONE” “MATTER-WITH-YOU?”] _(Finally, look who showed up! I was standing here, waiting for a while, looking between my phone and your apartment block. What’s the matter with you?)_ Quentin signs almost ferociously, but his smile gives it away in the end that he is not really pissed off at Thomas.

“Fshhhh…” Thomas laughs, signing immediately while Quentin was signing, as he finally stops in front of his friend and grabs hold of his hands, pulling Quentin close for a hug. [FINISH, “NO-MATTER” COME-HERE] _(Dude, whatever. Now shut up and hug me.)_

Newt and Teresa have finally caught up to them, watching the two males hug almost too affectionately for the public eyes. Newt immediately realizes why Quentin had acquired the sign name. It is because of a piercing on his right eyebrow. Quentin has a Spanish look to his built appearance, with faint stubble and handsome features on his face, his hair tossed around wildly. Newt notices that Quentin is taller than Thomas, and he himself is taller than Thomas by a couple of inches, but not to the same height as Quentin.

Meanwhile, the two guys have pulled away, and Quentin takes the opportunity to tussle with Thomas’ hair.

[FAR I **DRIVE-TO-HERE** ARRIVE FINISH LET-YOU-KNOW, YOU TEXT-BACK SAY MINUTE COME-DOWN nh(WILL). TIME “GO-BY”+, I WAIT+++ v(“WHAT-THE-HECK”)v ^(KNOW-THAT SOME FOOD HAVE THERE *With an intense expression, Quentin points to the back of his car* COLD MUST PUT-IN FRIDGE, YOU)^] _(I drove far to get here and when I texted you that I was here, you said you’d be down in a minute. That one minute dragged on and I was like “what the heck is taking him so long?” You know that you have cold and perishable food in the back of my car, right?)_ The Spanish guy winks with a small smirk, a signal that he is only teasing.

Newt is amazed at how incredibly fast the guy was signing, because his brother may sign fast, but this guy was on another level of fast. Even more surprised that he noticed how Thomas isn’t fazed at all and signs at a similar pace as Quentin’s.

[#DUDE…MY SISTER ARRIVE “SAME-TIME” SAME YOU. US-THREE CHAT+++ “GET-ATTENTION+” “US-THREE-COME-DOWN”. NOW HERE, ^(RIGHT ”?”)^] _(Dude, my sister arrived the same time you did; we chatted for a little while before coming down. At least we’re here, okay?)_ Thomas has the dignity to pout a little at his friend.

Quentin laughs at Thomas’ pouting expression. [fs(OK OK) ACCEPT] After giving his friend a gentle pat on the back of the neck, he then turns slightly to Teresa. [HELLO ns(TERESA) HOW YOU? ^(COLLEGE FORCE BUSY YOU “?”)^ ^(DO++ WORK++ EXAM++ STRESS PANIC “ALL-NIGHTER”+ “?”)^] _(Okay, okay. You’re right…Hey Teresa, how are things with you? College keeping you busy? What with work, exams, stress, and all-nighters?)_

Teresa responds with a one-sided twitch of her nose. [THAT, THAT, THAT. SOMETIME “STUMBLE-WHOA” **OVERWHELM** *She lets out a soft air through her lips* BUT MY GIRL SWEETHEART *she smiles* HELP-ME PATIENT **PROCESS** ] _(Yeeep. Sometimes it’s a bit too much that I’m finding myself overwhelmed but my girlfriend is an angel, she helps me get through the weeks without breaking down.)_

Newt notices that Teresa signs at a slightly slower pace, wondering if it is how she is or if it is for the sake of him.

[GOOD GOOD, FANTASTIC “THUMBS-UP”] _(Well good for you! That’s real good.)_ Quentin smiles earnestly and gives her a high-five.

Newt watches the whole conversation and is a little amazed that he actually does understand the whole thing, except for a few signs but he can easily fill in the blanks. He catches Quentin’s gaze and immediately, Quentin’s face falls and there is a slight frown instead.

It is a strange realization that the blond-haired male does not feel like a deer caught in the headlights, but rather he feels like waiting for the green light.

{WHO HIM “?”} _(Who’s he?)_ Quentin shifts his gaze between Thomas and Teresa, his signing frame becoming smaller than before.

Teresa and Thomas share a knowing look before indicating Quentin to look at Newt. The British male takes this as a signal to introduce himself.

[HELLO, MY NAME fs(NEWT), NAME SIGN ns(NEWT)] _(Hello, my name is Newt and this is my sign name.)_ Even though his hands are slightly faltering, Newt is quick to catch the slightly impressed look on Quentin’s face, but the latter remains a little cautious.

[“OH-I-SEE” YOU-TWO *He includes Thomas* ROOMMATE UP-THERE. HELLO, MY NAME fs(QUENTIN), NAME SIGN ns(QUENTIN). NICE “MEET-YOU”] _(Oh that’s right, you’re Thomas’ roommate. Well, hello, my name is Quentin and this is my sign name. Nice to meet you.)_ Quentin’s signing has seemed to slow down a little. _Perhaps out of courtesy_ , Newt thinks to himself. By the end of his line, there is a warm expression on his face.

[SAME] _(Nice to meet you as well.)_

[^(YOU HEARING YOU“?”)^]( _Are you hearing?)_ Quentin cuts to the point and mouths the question.

Newt nods casually, not mouthing his response. [I HEARING I, YES] _(Yeah, I’m hearing.)_

[v(WHERE FROM YOU)v ^(HERE #US “?”)^] _(Where are you from, Newt? Here in the States?)_

Thomas then breaks the flow by giving a light backhand slap to Quentin’s shoulder, smiling a little. [#DUDE, FROM HERE, sh(HE NOT HE)] He looks to his roommate. [“GO-AHEAD” “SIGN-TO-HIM”] _(Dude, actually, he’s not from here. Go ahead, Newt; show him.)_ The taller male is intrigued.

Newt gives a casual shrug and a face that says ‘Sure, why not?’.

<sh(NO), I FROM _^(WHERE)^_ ns(UK), MY HOMETOWN fs(DOVER) > _(No, not from the States, I’m from the United Kingdom, you see. Dover is my hometown.)_

“Whoa!” Quentin lets out a surprised grunt at the foreign sign language, but does not do anything further to interrupt. Both Thomas and Teresa are smiling, looking between Newt and Quentin.

Newt cannot help but smile a little at that. He feels his hands moving quickly due to muscle memory. <I HEARING I, YES BUT YOUNG BROTHER HAVE, nh(HE DEAF HE); ONLY DEAF. HIS NAME _^(WHAT)^_ fs(ARIS) ns(ARIS); US-TWO “GROW-UP” SIGN-LANGUAGE fs(BSL). > _(I am hearing, yeah, but I have a younger brother who’s the only Deaf member in my family. His name is Aris. We grew up together with BSL.)_ Newt mouths the word “brother” in case Thomas and Quentin do not get the sign.

“Wow…wow…” The Spanish male stands there a little flabbergasted at the differences of signs, before bringing up his hands to speak. [CONFUSE BSL WITH ASL SOMETIMES, SOME SIGN++ CONTRAST++. UM, YOUR SIGN HEARING <HEARING> SAME-ME SIGN DEAF] _(It’s confusing sometimes when you look at BSL and ASL as an overview; with the obvious contrast of signs. Like that one sign, “hearing”. The British sign is almost similar to how we sign “Deaf”.)_ He gives a few slow nods of amazement.

[THAT SIGN <BROTHER> I REMEMBER THAT MEAN BROTHER…] _(And I remember that BSL sign for brother… it’s how we sign brother here.)_

Newt nods in agreement before he switches his sign language to a hybrid of BSL and ASL. [BEFORE COLLEGE, <MY FAMILY> MOVE-HERE SETTLE <SHORT TIME>. <THAT TIME>, I ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL FULL. ~(HAPPEN COLLEGE)*(I STAY)~ <FAMILY> MOVE-BACK. <SINCE-THEN>, I NOT <EXPOSED+> fs(ASL). ~(UNDERSTAND)~, <BROTHER PREFER> HOME fs(BSL), SCHOOL fs(ASL). ns(ARIS) <SOON> FINISH SECONDARY SCHOOL > GRADUATE WILL. HAPPEN MEET ns(TERESA) COLLEGE, IN COLLEGE, US-TWO “WOW” DEAF <BROTHER> HAVE PLUS “SIGN-LANGUAGE” KNOW. SHE TEACH-ME SOME fs(ASL) SIGN++ I “PICK-UP” SOME. STILL THINK-ATTACH fs(BSL)] _(Before I went to college, my family and I had moved here and settled for some time. For the duration of that time, I attended all four years of high school, and when college came around, I stayed while my family moved back. Since then, I haven’t been really picking up ASL. My brother, see, he preferred BSL at home and ASL at school. He’ll be done soon with secondary school. When I met Teresa in college, we realize later on that we have Deaf siblings and that we know sign language. She taught me various signs and I was able to pick up on some of them. I’m afraid I can’t get out of switching between BSL and ASL.)_

“Aah!” Quentin utters out in understanding while Thomas does the same but soundlessly. If looks could talk, Teresa’s face would say “yep”.

[YOU LUCKY HAVE ROOMMATE HE KNOW <ns(BRITISH) ”SIGN-LANGUAGE”>; REMEMBER “LONG-AGO” US-TWO COLLEGE, PEOPLE WORLDWIDE EXCHANGE MANY++ PEOPLE DIFFERENT <”SIGN-LANGUAGE”>, ^(REMEMBER YOU “?”)^] _(Thomas, you’re one hell of a lucky guy to have a roommate who actually knows a foreign sign language. Remember our college years, meeting many foreign exchange students and learning bits and pieces from so many different sign languages.)_

Thomas twitches one side of his nose in agreement. [YES I REMEMBER nh(ME).] _(Yeah, I remember.)_

Quentin then looks back to Newt. [I BEFORE STUDY SOME BSL, AWKWARD “MIND-SHIFT”++ KNOW WHICH SIGN MEAN. GIVE-UP NOT sh(PRACTICE) <SIGN-WITH-OTHERS>. FINALLY MEET-YOU, BUT LIVE FAR. I REALLY JEALOUS, YOU *He points to Thomas with a look that mixes envy and amusement* REALLY JEALOUS ME.] _(I used to study a little of BSL, but it was kinda awkward having to change your mindset to know which sign appropriately means what. So I gave up on that because I didn’t have anyone to really practice it with. But then I meet you tonight and it had to be where it’s far from where I live, dangit. I’m really jealous of you, Thomas, really jealous, haha.)_

In Newt’s eyes, he only understands this: I BEFORE _____ _____ BSL _______ “____-_____” KNOW _____ SIGN ____. ____-__ ___ ____ sh(PRACTICE) <SIGN-WITH-OTHERS>. FINALLY MEET-YOU, BUT LIVE FAR. I REALLY JEALOUS, YOU, REALLY JEALOUS ME.

Thomas chuckles together with Quentin, though Newt is a little delayed at figuring out the ASL signs, his forehead creasing in concentration but chuckling a little. Quentin notices his behavior and seems to be a little concerned.

[HEY… ^(YOU UNDERSTAND ME)^ ~sh(NOT UNDERSTAND)nh(TELL-ME)~] _(Newt, did you understand what I said? If you didn’t, let me know.)_ Quentin smiles with assurance.

[“SORT-OF”, FINE. I THINK nh(UNDERSTAND). THANK-YOU.] _(Sort of…? But it’s okay. I think I got the gist of it. Thanks though.)_ Newt mirrors back a grin.

[ALRIGHT. I UNDERSTAND “STUMBLE-WHOA” EYES-RECEIVE BSL THERE ASL HERE FLIP-FLOP MIND TRANSLATE WHICH…] _(Alright. I can understand how you feel with your receptive skills, feeling out of place with the difference between ASL and BSL because you grew up there and you’ve lived here for some time without a lot of exposure to ASL.)_

Quentin then shifts his gaze to Teresa. [^(YOU KNOW HIM LONG TIME HIM, YOU)^] _(Did you know Newt a long time before Thomas moved here?)_

Thomas’ sister nods. [US-TWO SAME COLLEGE, DIFFERENT MAJOR++. _^(HE MAJOR WHAT)^_ ARCHITECTURE; I OBVIOUS KNOW “ME-BEING” CHEF] _(Yeah, we went to the same college but we had different majors. See, he was in architecture and you know very well I was in culinary education.)_

[“OH-I-SEE” WOW ARCHITECTURE “?” SAME BUILDING++ MANY SCHOOL HOUSE] _(Ohh, architecture, huh? Like buildings, schools, and houses?)_ Quentin directs the question to Newt, in which the latter nods.

[I MAJOR ACCOUNTING, MONEY MY GAME, ^(KNOW)^] _(I majored in Accounting, so money’s my kind of thing, you know?)_ Everyone chuckles at Quentin's air of bravado.

Thomas flails with his hands a little to get everyone’s attention. [OK OK SERIOUS THOSE THING++ FOOD “BRING-UP” HURRY. LATER CHAT+++ nh(CAN).] _(Okay, people, seriously, we need to bring those food and other things up to my apartment quickly as possible. Save the chatter for later.)_

With that, everyone starts to gather at the back of Quentin’s car to get the bags, except for Quentin who heads to the driver’s door. Thomas firmly taps on the car as he spots Quentin grabbing the handle, and the vibrations on the metal surface causes his friend to look up to find Thomas waving.

[ns(QUENTIN), ~(YOUR CAR PARK-HERE)~ nh(FINE), TICKET sh(NOT). ~(WEEKEND)(FINE)~.] _(Hey Quentin, your car is fine, you won’t get ticketed. If it’s a weekend, your car won’t be towed.)_

“So how did it go for you, Newt?”

Newt looks up from where he was glancing at any bags that are not too heavy for him to carry. Teresa is looking at him with a slight gleeful expression as she picks up some bags.

“Oh, not too bad, really. I could see there were some variations that we have, but there were some I just had no way to translate it in my head. I’m glad I got to learn from you, Tess, the survival skills. But now that I have Thomas with me as my new roommate, I think I’ll be able to handle two sign languages by the end of this year. This will be a fun year…

~~~~~~~~~~

Once the four of them have unloaded from the trunk of Quentin’s car, stocked the fridge, and stowed away the non-food items, they are winding down at the apartment by having dinner with Newt’s casserole and Teresa’s gift of a wine bottle.

The four of them make small talk about Quentin’s driving and Thomas’ plans for the rest of the week especially with work. At one point of the conversation, when the four of them decides to take a lull and eat, Teresa takes the moment to get Newt’s attention.

“Hey, Newt…”

The soft voice almost startles not only Newt but Thomas, no doubt that both of them have thought that they were imagining things. However, they are quick to realize it must have been Teresa, as her snickering gives her away. Quentin looks up at the sudden movement from Teresa, oblivious to the sound effect, but suddenly confused.

Teresa then sweeps her gaze across the three guys before bringing her hands up. [SORRY, FUNNY SEE YOU-TWO *She indicates her brother and her friend* “LOOK-UP” *A scared expression on her face*. sh(ANYWAY), HEY *she motions her hand towards Newt* ^(YOU KNOW-THAT ALL-THROUGH TONIGHT CHAT+++ SOUND **QUIET** )^ FEEL **DIFFERENT** nh(COMPARE BEFORE)] _(I’m sorry, it was just so funny watching the two of you with your reactions. Anyway, Newt, you realize that it has been awfully quiet the whole time we’ve been hanging out? Nothing like before.)_ Teresa raises her eyebrow with a sly gaze.

Thomas looks over to Newt to see that the male looks like he is just realizing it and nods in astonishment.

[YOU RIGHT…] Newt thinks back to the times he had with his family when there was signing involved. <GUESS BEFORE, “GROW-UP” WITH ns(ARIS) I “ACCUSTOMED-TO” SOUND/”SIGN-LANGUAGE” BUT NOW **SILENCE**. REALLY NEW EXPERIENCE ESPECIALLY EAT/SIGN “SAME-TIME” > _(You’re right…I guess before, when I grew up with Aris, I had gotten used to hearing sounds and speaking in BSL that now, tonight with this dinner, it never occurred to me how quiet it is. It’s a new experience since we’ve been talking with our hands while eating also.)_

Newt draws himself out of his daze and notices that the three of them are staring at him with a hint of confusion amidst the pleasant expressions on their faces.

Still chewing his food, Quentin is the first to speak, grabbing everyone’s attention. [sh(NOT UNDERSTAND) UM *He wiggles his fingers trying to remember the signs* <ACCUSTOMED… EXPERIENCE… ESPECIALLY… GUESS> v(MEAN)v YOU SIGN STOP “?” *Quentin has a puzzled look on his face as he mouths the word “stop”*] _(I don’t understand; what are the ASL equivalents of these BSL signs…? You signed “Stop”…)_ He looks between the three friends.

[STOP] “Stop?” Now it is Newt’s turn to be confused, but only for a moment, because his brain remembered he was signing in BSL. He chuckles to himself. [fs(ASL) STOP]/[fs(BSL) <REALLY> fs(REALLY)] He mouths the word “really” while fingerspelling it in ASL.

“Aaahh…” The three of them said in unison, understanding that sign difference. [REALLY]

Nodding with a smile, Newt imitates the sign.

“What…about the other signs?” Thomas then reminds him, and the blond-haired man has no idea what to say. “The…these.” <ACCUSTOMED, EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY, GUESS>

“Uhh… Lemme see…” <ACCUSTOMED… fs(AC…)> Realizing his mistake in fingerspelling the British way, Newt corrects himself to spell the American way. [fs(ACCUSTOMED)] He continues the repetition of giving the BSL sign and then the ASL fingerspelling for the rest of the list in the similar manner. For each word he spelled out, he is given the ASL equivalent and makes the connection between the two signs for each word.

For the remaining time of dinner, topics have been discussed and the four of them have jumped onto different tangents before coming back to the original topics; from Newt’s BSL, to Thomas’ thoughts about his new workplace, to the childhood memories between Quentin and the siblings, to Newt’s brother, to Newt and Teresa’s social circle of friends.

Thomas finds it amazing that while he, Quentin, and Teresa converse in ASL, Newt interchanges between BSL and ASL (from what he can remember), and the two parties will oftentimes help understand each other’s signs. Sometimes, it leads either to jokes and laughter or to serious educational moments.

After dinner, once they have cleaned up the table and placed their dishes and utensils in the sink, everyone sits back at the living room sofa and thank Newt and Teresa for the dish and drink. Quentin glances at an analog clock on the wall adjacent to the entrance of the apartment, and sees that it is almost 10:30pm. Dinner was at 7pm. His home is a little over an hour’s drive.

[BATHROOM] He signs to no one in particular but Thomas, Teresa, and Newt look to him as he stands up from his seat. _(Excuse me, I gotta use the bathroom.)_ The three seated nod almost nonchalantly. There is no such thing as too much information for them anyway.

“Thomas… have you had boba before?” [HEY *Teresa flaps her hand lightly in Thomas’ direction* ^(FINISH TASTE fs(BOBA) BEFORE, YOU “?”)^]

“Uh…” Thomas looks at his sister strangely. [… **NO**... v(WHY, THAT fs(BOBA) WHAT THAT)v] _(Can’t say that I have…why? What even is boba anyway?)_ He has never heard of such a thing before, honest to goodness. He gets a chuckle from Teresa.

[KNOW; SAME FEELING FIRST TIME HEAR THAT. ns(NEWT) *She points at her friend* YOU TELL-ME ABOUT fs(BOBA). I STUMPED, BUT WILLING TASTE. TEA CAFÉ NEAR CAMPUS, US-TWO *she indicates Newt and herself* GO “LOOK-AROUND” FOOD DRINK fs(BOBA). FIRST TIME TASTE, “SINCE-THEN” **ADDICTED**. SELF TASTE fs(JELLY, GUMMY, “SO-SO”). SMALL CUTE BALL CIRCLE++ MIX CAN WITH CUP TEA fs(SMOOTHIE, SLUSH) POUR-IN. YOU “ **HAVE-TO** ” TASTE. MY WORKPLACE NEARBY HAVE THAT. WHENEVER WORK FINISH, “TAKE-OFF-FOR” HOME, COME VISIT ME AND ns(ALBY)!] _(Yeah, I know how you feel. I didn’t know about boba until Newt came along and told me about it in college. I was stumped at his description, so he asked me to go with him to the tea café that was near our campus. Since then, I’ve been hooked. It’s like a jelly or gummy texture…ish? In small balls. You can even put them in tea, smoothies and slushes. Thomas, you have to try one boba drink. There’s a tea café nearby here, that’s my workplace, so whenever you’re coming home from work, come visit me and Alby!)_

“Huh…” Thomas gives a hum of interest. [INTERESTING, “KEEP-IN-MIND” WILL TRY ONE DAY, THIS WEEK sh(fs(NG)) _^(WHY)^_ WORK PLUS UNPACK+++ DO+++ ERRAND+++ “NEXT-WEEK” MAYBE “SEE-SEE”.] _(Huh, that sounds nice. I’ll keep that in mind to try it sometime, but not this week because I’ve got things to do. Maybe next week when things have settled down.)_

Just then, Quentin comes back and announces that he has to leave soon, and politely declines Newt and Thomas’ offer to let him spend the night.

Teresa butts in as she flaps her hand at Quentin. [#DUDE, I PLAN OVERNIGHT SLEEP ANYWAY, MY #APARTMENT NEARBY FOUR INTERSECTION OVER, BUT REFUSE “WALK-ALONE” NIGHTTIME. US-TWO SLEEP HERE *She refers to the living room* CAN, NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.] _(Dude, I plan to sleep here for the night, even though my apartment is closeby, like four blocks over. But I refuse to walk alone at night. You and I can sleep in here, nothing wrong with that.)_

Quentin raises his eyebrows in mild surprise at that. [^(YOU SURE I CAN SLEEP)^] _(You guys sure I can sleep here?)_ He directs this question to all three of them. Teresa gives him an exasperated look whereas Thomas and Newt wholeheartedly nod without hesitation.

[BETTER DRIVE “WIDE-AWAKE” COMPARE DROWSY. SAME DRIVE DRUNK.] _(Better to drive in the morning revitalized than in the nighttime when you’re sleepy. Drowsy driving’s the same as drunk driving…)_ Thomas has a concerned look on his face.

Quentin sighs. [^(MY CAR FINE, PROMISE)^] _(And you promise that my car will be fine?)_

Thomas smiles. [nh(YES, PROMISE) “CROSS-HEART” ^(IF WANT, US-TWO SLEEP MY BED _^(WHY)^_ WINDOW “LOOK-THROUGH” SPOT YOUR CAR. MORNING, SEE FOR YOURSELF CAN] _(Yes, I promise, cross my heart. If you want, you can sleep with me in my bedroom because my window has a view of your car in the guest lot. In the morning, you can see for yourself that it’ll be there.)_

Quentin stands near the entrance of the apartment, briefly lost in thought after receiving Thomas’ signs. […FINE, “THANK-YOU” *He looks to both Thomas and Newt*] _(…Okay, I’ll spend the night here. Thank you, Thomas and Newt.)_ He takes a few steps away from the door.

Newt waves it off and smiles. [FRIEND fs(OF) ns(THOMAS) HERE, “SAME-ME” FRIEND] _(Any friend of Thomas is a friend of mine.)_

Thomas replies simultaneously with a [“NO-PROBLEM” “THUMB-UP”] _(Not a problem at all, dude.)_

~~~~~~~~~~

“Good night, Teresa.” Thomas spots his sister getting ready for bed on the sofa, while he and Newt are washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen respectively. At first, Newt refused to let him do chores since it was his first night, and he had done a lot today; but Thomas uses the same reason for his counterargument, adding that he is now an official roommate and roommates share responsibilities. Newt surrendered with a grin and a shake of his head, yielding to Thomas’ logic. Meanwhile, Quentin has already knocked out in Thomas’ bedroom, and neither of the three could blame him. Driving and signing can take up a lot of energy from a person sometimes.

“Good night, Tom. And hey, it’s your first night in this apartment. I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad to be here.”

“Same goes for me, mate.” Thomas turns his head around to see where Newt is at, his hearing aids signaling him of his presumed location. His roommate is behind him on his right, stowing some pans in the lower cabinets. “I’m glad you and I are roommates.”

“Me too, Newt… Today’s been very wonderful, really… I gained a new friend, reunited with an old friend and my sister. Oh, and how was your ASL experience tonight, by the way? I kinda figured maybe you developed some sort of cheat sheet in your brain for the conversion of ASL to BSL. ‘Cause I know we didn’t have any,” Thomas quips lightheartedly as he rinses the suds off his hands and arms. “Some we could guess, most of the time, we had no idea what to guess,” he says with a laugh, drying his hands with a kitchen towel.

Newt smiles, feeling unabashed about what happened throughout the whole evening. He moves to stand near Thomas, facing him. The two of them are now done with their cleaning duties and are about to turn in for the night. Teresa is silently watching their interactions from the sofa.

“Yeah, it was very interesting. Y’know, Teresa kind of asked me the same question earlier this evening. I think I understood more of ASL than I thought I would during dinner. Some signs were similar not necessarily in shapes but in concepts, like I said to you before.”

Thomas does not hide his mild surprise at Newt’s answer, thinking that even though Newt and Teresa hung out together over the years, they may have talked verbally a lot more often than nonverbally, and Newt has his mindset of BSL too. He then makes an expression of “You’ve got a point there” when he hears the last sentence.

“I suppose you’re right…” Trailing off, Thomas feels a yawn coming on. When it does, he gives a shuddering breath and glances to the digital clock on the oven.

_11:30PM._

“Wow, it’s half an hour close to midnight. What a day…” He suddenly feels a wave of tiredness and giggles. “Thank god tomorrow’s Sunday.” Newt agrees with a chuckle. The British roommate then gives Thomas a shoulder massage and the latter sighs heavily, appreciating the gesture.

“One more day before another hell week of work and real life begins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sign names for Aris and Alby: 
> 
> Aris has the “A” handshape (ASL) and swipes against the forehead and the corresponding temple of your head to your dominant hand. It is because of his short hair, as stated in the book series.
> 
> Alby has the “A”handshape (ASL) but there is a rolling of the fingers from the pinky to the thumb, like how the crowd would do the waves. It is because of his personality as a thinker and his amazing charisma.
> 
> KOFF = Knuckles on front fingers


	3. The Somewhat First Morning at the New Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Quentin. In bed. *giggles childishly*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual identities and sensual moments. Deaf Conversation.
> 
> I strongly advise you to open up the Part 1 link as a side window for this.
> 
>  
> 
> [Sign Language Guide](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7983064)

Sunday morning greets Thomas with a late start, partly due to the high productivity that had occurred yesterday with the move-in and then the energized socialization with his friends and sister. The sun, although brightly shining outside, is blocked off from the dark-colored curtains that adorn the single large window of his bedroom. Not completely, for there is a sliver of sunlight peeking through the centered gap of the curtains.

That kind of dim luminance is enough to itch at Thomas’ sleep-induced darkened vision.

With a soft though firm rub to his closed eyes, Thomas is about to stretch his limbs but stops because he is suddenly aware of his position.

Lazily opening his eyes, he senses that his clothed back is pressed right up against Quentin’s chest, shirtless because that is how his friend usually sleeps.

He is also aware that one of his legs is sandwiched between Quentin’s toned legs.

Well-developed arm muscles surround him, one hugging him firmly around his chest and the other resting under Thomas’ head as a pillow.

The awakened male also feels a weight leaning against the back of his head, presumably to be Quentin’s forehead.

Thomas can only smile at their current state. The tall Spanish male gets cuddly when it comes to sleeping, as he does so with not just Thomas, but with a few of their mutual friends, and formerly, a couple of his ex-girlfriends. Although this is not entirely new of a cuddling position for Thomas, he welcomes the gesture as it has been a long time since they had spent the night together. Both of them actually do not have any sexual feelings for each other, they just choose to be romantic and platonic with each other when they want to be. Neither of them believed in the need for labels, though Thomas does consider himself demisexual and Quentin heteroflexible exclusively for certain close friends, or more specifically, a certain Thomas. But absolutely in no way does that affect their relationship; after all, they grew up together like peas in a pod.

Mindful of his sleeping companion, Thomas lets out a deep sigh through his nose as he slowly stretches to the full extent. Quentin may be a heavy sleeper, but when something suddenly moves under his touch, it will rouse him immediately. Once the bones have righted themselves with the slight vibrations under his skin, Thomas checks again to see that sure enough, his friend remains unaffected. Thomas blearily blinks some more and cranes his neck to find his clock resting on his nightstand next to his bed.

_9:03AM…_

“Ugh…” he groans out and buries himself deeper into his bed, but does not go back to sleep.

Also on the nightstand next to his clock, his hearing aids are in a dehumidifier chest, having been in there overnight as it usually should be to last for the whole day.

Instead, he studies his bedroom for a little while. He likes that the layout is much more comfortable than the bedroom in his previous apartment, which was kind of cramped for his liking and additional furniture. This current one, with a wider rectangular floor plan, is more spacious and accommodating to his taste.

“Hm…” Thomas ponders a little to decide on what needs to be done for his bedroom, looking around a little.

His actions and the faint vibrations from the noise cause Quentin to stir a little before he feels their positions adjusting some more.

While Thomas may be in his shirt and briefs, and Quentin in his boxers, their new positions have taken intimacy to a whole new level, as the latter’s hand slowly drifts downward to Thomas’ clothed stomach and there is no inch of space between their bodies. What is more, the arm under Thomas’ head shifts a little and Thomas can feel the hand combing lazily through his hair; he does not move for a few seconds before he turns over onto his back and looks over at Quentin, his friend’s hands never wavering from their spots.

With a soft sigh, Quentin stirs some more and rouses himself awake from Thomas’ movements. Maintaining eye contact, he shoots his friend a tired smile and rubs Thomas’ stomach, a way of saying Good morning between the two of them.

Mirroring a smile, Thomas responds with a soft grip on Quentin’s forearm that is on his stomach and rubs his thumb lazily. To his surprise, he notices an evil grin slowly appearing on his friend’s face. With a wary look, he braces himself for what is to come.

What happens in the next few seconds catches the younger man off guard as Quentin reaches under one of Thomas’ legs and pins Thomas down in a wrestling position. Quentin then attempts to tickle on any exposed skin he can find.

When Quentin’s hands finally do find some skin, Thomas’ brain catches up with his body as Thomas shrieks with laughter and tries to squirm his way out, but to no avail. He is pinned on his side, and his limbs are trapped under Quentin’s body. After a few wriggles, one of Thomas’ legs pulls itself free and Thomas does his best to counter Quentin, finally turning him over and pinning his friend on his back.

It does not quite work; once again, Thomas ends up being the one on his back and Quentin pinning him down, one hand holding down Thomas’ wrists, and the other holding one of Thomas’ legs up, folded in between their bodies. What is more, Thomas’ other leg is wrapped around one of Quentin’s legs. Despite their positions that could be mistaken for a sexual act, both of them are smiling goofily at each other, chuckling a little.

Thomas wriggles his hands to let Quentin know he is going to say something. His best friend does not seem to let him off easily as he raises an eyebrow with a calculating look. To make good on his promise, Thomas puts on an innocent yet earnest expression on his face and keeping his hands limp and still.

Quentin slowly releases his hold on him, and Thomas then rests his leg around Quentin’s waist. Making good on his promise, Thomas hastily starts to sign.

[WINDOW THERE ~(“LOOK-OUT-THERE”)~, SEE YOUR CAR STILL “CAR-PA…”] _(Look outside my window and tell me when you see your car still parked there…)_ Just as Thomas is about to finish the sign for “park”, his eyes dart quickly off to the side, looking past his friend to catch the bedroom door slowly opening.

Quentin is quick to catch Thomas faltering and furrows his brow a little before turning around to look at what Thomas was looking at.

The door reveals Teresa dressed in her pajamas peeking in, wondering if the two men are awake. Eyebrows raised high, she has an expression of one accidentally stumbling into something intriguing yet inappropriate. She swings the door a little further.

[#WELL #WELL #WELL, TIME 9 MORNING SEE YOU-TWO START *She starts moving her head around similar to what a cockatiel will do* ^(“QUOTATION-MARKS” PLAY “?”)^] _(Well well well…it’s 9 in the morning and it looks like the two of you are getting things started…)_ She waggles her eyebrows and smiles suggestively.

Neither of the men makes a move, feeling comfortable with their positions and completely aware of their state of undress. Quentin shrugs with a lazy smirk, and Thomas says [#SO-WHAT].

 _Oh,_ Teresa mouths with a grin and a nod. [WILL WARN ns(NEWT) INFORM-HIM NOT ENTER BECAUSE INHALE STRONG SMELL fs(TESTOSTERONE) AND “YOU-TWO” NOT MUCH CLOTHES] _(I see how it is… Well then, I will let Newt know and warn him to not come in, since the testosterone levels are too high and your clothing is at a minimum.)_ She cackles evilly but does not move from her spot, although she then leans against the doorframe.

Quentin and Thomas then look at each other, sharing a secret look before Thomas signals with a quick nod.

In a flash, the olive-skinned male pins Thomas’ wrists again above Thomas’ head with one hand, and the other grabs the hem of Thomas’ shirt to pull up. As Quentin leans close to Thomas, the latter arches his back upward before he looks back at his sister with a smirk.

Knowing that he and Quentin are simply playing around, he relishes in the fact that Teresa is incredibly shocked with her eyes wide open and mouth agape.

Teresa won’t deny it as a bisexual; she likes seeing two guys about to get it on, but it freaks her out a little because it’s her brother in front of her. She glances to where Newt is standing in the kitchen, cooking away with breakfast. She side-eyes her brother and his friend as they continue their tease show, finally closing her jaw and recovering from her shock.

A gentle (and scratchy because of Quentin’s stubble) nuzzle against Thomas’ neck and a soft nip on his ear from Quentin, combined with a firm squeeze around his wrists and a sensual caress on his exposed side, sends a shiver along Thomas’ spine, his eyes almost fluttering. In addition, a slow grind from Quentin’s body causes a feeling of breathlessness to wash over Thomas, and his brain to almost short-circuit as he involuntarily tosses back his head. He wonders if this is taking a step too far.

“NOPE! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE…” Even without his hearing aids, Thomas can make out Teresa’s loud voice, though her first two “nope”s seem muffled and sound like how one would hear the other voice underwater. He fails to hear the rest as Teresa’s voice changes in pitch, increasing towards the end, and grows faint because Teresa has already left the room after the second “nope”. The rest of Teresa’s monologue falls on deaf ears, literally.

”I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT EVER AGAIN, SCREW YOU GUYS. NEWT, WHERE’S THE FREAKIN’ BLEACH?? …MY EYES, DAMMIT.”

When Thomas opens his eyes to look back at the door, Teresa has disappeared. He squirms a little to signal his friend that it was enough. Quentin lifts his head to look at his friend, who nods in the direction of the door. He looks back to check, and after seeing that Teresa is gone, he looks back at a dazed but smiling Thomas. With one hand free, Quentin signs [SEEM ACCEPT REAL “?” *He raises one eyebrow in question*] _(Did it look real enough that she fell for it?)_

Thomas gulps a little, his heart a little racing from earlier. He knows it was just a playful thing but damned if he feels a little too warm and in a lustful haze. And damned if he did not find Quentin’s facial expression too sinfully sexy. He nods a little shakily, praying that he is not blushing.

Quentin’s brow furrows immediately before Quentin lets go of Thomas’ wrists, bringing himself to a kneeling position. [v(WHY “RED-FACE”)v] _(Why are you looking slightly red?)_

 _There goes my dignity…_ Thomas thinks to himself as he gulps, his hands not moving from their spots. _And he was just so close to me… I think it’s just because I’ve missed him and my body sort of forgot how to take this casually. I won’t deny that Quentin is hot and that we have our chemistry, but I also know that what we have is a relationship that is more-than-brothers and less-than-lovers. And this was a bit too extreme._

A hand squeezes Thomas’ left shoulder gently, snapping Thomas out of his thoughts. [^(“TOO-MUCH” “?”)^] _(Was that too much?)_

Thomas replies with a small smile and a faint nod, a look of embarrassment masked on his face. _No point in lying…_

With his other hand cupping the right side of Thomas’ head, Quentin lowers down again. This time, it is to place a chaste kiss on his friend’s forehead. [SORRY FEEL AWKWARD…] _(I’m sorry for making you feel awkward…)_ He has a concerned look on his face when he pulls away.

Thomas responds with a soft grip on Quentin’s left wrist, shaking his head dismissively, and rubs on the inner wrist with his thumb. He lets go to sign, hesitant to say anything before he finds some words to start with.

[ **SINCE** LONG-TIME US-TWO “SLEEP-IN” SAME THIS. BONER NONE ME BUT WHOO… ADRENALINE] _(It has been an incredibly long time since we slept like this, we both know that. I wasn’t hard, but wow…that was some rush of excitement earlier…)_ Thomas lets out a laugh, and Quentin mirrors the action.

[KNOW… SAME] _(I know right? Same here.)_ Quentin signs and in the next few seconds of silence, Thomas catches an unreadable expression on his face.

[I MISS YOU] _(I’ve missed you, dude…)_

Thomas smiles and signs back the same statement, a little bemused but touched.

[I MEAN, **I MISS YOU**. THIS MORNING HAPPEN BEFORE “WAKE-UP”…I MISS SLEEP WITH YOU, YOU SAME MY BEAR CUDDLE “LONG-AGO”. *Quentin gives a small smile after confessing* US-TWO “GROW-UP” TOGETHER, SAME SCHOOL++, NEIGHBOR. LAST SEVERAL YEAR, TIME APART, YOU DIFFERENT CITY, ME STILL SAME HOME AREA. US-TWO OFTEN MEET, ME WITH SEVERAL GIRL-EX++ “ONE-AFTER-ANOTHER”. …WAIT, **SINCE** YOU STILL SINGLE STILL] _(No, look, I_ missed _you. What happened this morning, before waking up… I missed sleeping with you, you’re like my teddy bear that I haven’t cuddled with in a long time, heh. We grew up together, went to the same schools…and we were neighbors. But the last several years, we’ve spent quite some time apart, you in a different city, working; me still in the same home area, working and getting by. And yeah, we met up often when we can… you, me, and my former girlfriends… Huh, you’ve not had any special someone, as far as I know…)_

Thomas shrugs and a crooked smile replaces his grin.

[I FEEL NOT REALLY READY RELATIONSHIP. I COMFORTABLE PREFER “HANG-OUT” WITH FRIEND++. HARD MEET NEW PERSON, WANT MAINTAIN FRIENDSHIP, SEE **PROGRESS** ~(DEVELOP)~. ~(YES)/(TRUST STICKY)~ NOT EASY, SAME YOU…*He realizes that he is implying a direct confession, and hastily adds a sign to cover it up* THEM] _(Mm, I don’t feel ready for a relationship. I’m comfortable hanging out with friends. It’s hard when it comes to meeting a new person and maintain a friendship that could have the potential to develop into something more, should it ever happen. Even then, trust can be a sticky issue… It’s not the same with you...and uh, the others too.)_

Quentin sighs with a solemn nod, understanding the hidden message. He loves Thomas, he really does, from the bottom of his heart; but the two of them know that Quentin is not really interested in sexual acts or marriage with a man personally.

[UNDERSTAND, ILY… nh(SERIOUS **_ILY_ )**, “ME-BEING”. “TRUE-BIZ” FEEL COMFORTABLE SAME THIS ONLY WITH YOU… OTHER GUY THEM, *Quentin does a small shake of his head* REALLY SAME FRIEND BOUNDARY.  BUT YOU, ONLY YOU. FINISH KNOW-THAT nh(YOU ILY-ME)… *He shoots a wink* BUT MAYBE SOMEONE OUT-THERE WILL LOVE YOU **MORE** COMPARE ME. UNDERSTAND, THIS “BODY-CHEMISTRY”, OUR RELATIONSHIP… ~(HAPPEN)~, MY FEELING FOR YOU NEVER CHANGE, I WANT YOU #BE HAPPY WITH SOMEONE] _(I see… Now, look here, Thomas. I love you. Seriously, I do love you in a personal, romantic way, and that’s coming from a heteroflexible guy. And it’s only with you that I’m comfortable being like this, unlike with other guys where my friendship with them has some boundaries. You’re my only exception, Thomas. I know that you love me just as well, but there may come a day when someone out there will love you more than I can love you. What we have, that’s just for us. But when you find that someone and you welcome them into your life, my feelings for you will never change, ever. I want you to be happy with them.)_

Quentin takes note of how Thomas averts eyes at the last statement. He then takes hold of Thomas’ hands, and pulls his friend to an upright-seated position, catching Thomas’ gaze once again. With a lazy smile, Quentin guides Thomas’ hands to wrap loosely around his neck, and when his friend gets the message, he hugs Thomas’ lower back to support him. If one were to look at the pair, they would think of a koala hug, with Thomas sitting on Quentin’s lap, legs wrapped around his waist.

Thomas shoots his friend a slightly puzzled look, not exactly expressing any sort of hesitation in this act of intimacy, but his heart has just started picking up the pace at how close their faces are. His eyes take in the sight of Quentin’s twinkling eyes, the eyebrow piercing, the handsomely chiseled face structure, the stubble, and the lips that curl into a smirk. Even when seated, Thomas is slightly below eye-level with Quentin, due to Quentin’s long torso.

The two of them do not move from their positions; instead, they share glances before Quentin makes the first move, leaning his forehead to touch against Thomas’, with Quentin closing his eyes and Thomas still staring at his friend before casting his eyes downward. A light musky whiff from his friend soothes him, as he makes himself comfortable on Quentin’s lap.

Just then, there is an unmistakably soft rumbling through their bodies, the source coming from the olive-skinned male.  A simple brush between their noses may have been gentle but the contact was electrifying enough to make Thomas close his eyes as well, and he feels the sensation of a spark coursing through his body.

The next few seconds leaves Thomas stunned and clueless whether if he started it or Quentin did, but there is an undeniable firm pressure on his lips.

Both pairs of eyes open when the two males break off the kiss, two light breaths of air crashing and receding, studying each other’s faces.

Thomas furrows his brow, a questioning look in his eyes. _What are we doing, Quentin?_

Quentin replies with a small smile, giving a faint shake of his head and gazing at his dear friend with such adoration. _It’s only you and me right now._ He brushes his nose against Thomas’ once more, and Thomas can only feel his insides warming up into a puddle of goo.

Thomas feels a shiver up his spine when Quentin rubs a thumb lightly and lazily across his lower back. The younger male licks on his bottom lip before he nips on it and then, hugging his friend a little more by crossing his arms to grasp lightly on the back of Quentin’s messy hair, he yearns to taste his friend’s lips once again.

Quentin does not hesitate to reciprocate, and while kissing, he raises his right hand to cradle the back of Thomas’ head, his left hand pressing down on the mattress steadily as he lowers their intertwined bodies back down.

Once settled, their passionate kiss continues on, tongues rolling over each other and teeth teasing each other’s lips, breaths going from faint to heavily. Thomas feels the desire burning inside and he wants _more_. Who better than Quentin to trust and love in the next step? His brain knows he really should not want more, but his body is encouraging him to do the opposite.

Quentin moves his right hand lower to cup the back of Thomas’ neck, and rubs his thumb across the left side of Thomas’ face. The contact makes Thomas rolls his eyes behind closed eyelids and he kisses more fervently, nuzzling against the warmth of Quentin’s palm.

The two males break off the kiss and Quentin loses a little bit of self-control when he places a trail of butterfly kisses along Thomas’ jaw and neck, teasing with sucking and licking at the base of his friend’s neck. His left hand snakes under Thomas’ shirt to feel the beautiful lean torso, and caress the skin with such loving care. Thankfully, he actually has more self-control than his friend does, because he feels Thomas’ legs tightening around his waist and hips rolling against his own. His body catching up to his brain, Quentin slides his left hand down to grip Thomas’ right hip gently but firmly, a small warning.

Thomas lets out a fairly loud and audible moan, and that gives a wake-up call to his body as it catches up to his brain. With that, he freezes and opens his eyes, one hand hastily covering his mouth and the other still hanging around Quentin’s neck. The taller male looks over with a smirk, already knowing that Thomas has made a noise that can be easily heard because of how strong the vibration was under his touch.

Outside of the bedroom, Newt is cooking up breakfast and Teresa is providing any needed assistance. The two of them are chatting up a storm when they hear the noise from Thomas’ bedroom and they share looks of astonishment and mouths agape.

“I thought you said they were just close friends, that they weren’t exactly friends with benefits,” Newt says, one eyebrow perked up as he glances to the door that leads to Thomas’ bedroom.

“W-well…it’s more like a romantic friendship? Without the sex…? I don’t know…” Teresa smiles crookedly before she lets out a soft giggle. “Thomas and Quentin swear that their friendship has never gotten to a sexual level, and Quentin himself is well, heteroflexible. I mean, yeah, he’s had girlfriends in the past... definitely fooled around with them, but I don’t think he was ever that close to any guys except for my brother. The thing is...when I was gonna check up on them this morning… well let’s just say what I saw was very,” she gives a few slow nods, “…suggestive.” Newt snickers.

Back in the bedroom, Thomas feels the heat covering up his face as he lets a wave of embarrassment wash over him, his eyes averted to the side, looking towards the open door of his bedroom. Quentin chuckles breathily through his nose before placing a kiss on Thomas’ cheek and temple.

Thomas plucks up the courage to look back at Quentin, his face still red from embarrassment, and signs to him {SORRY}.

Quentin makes a face and smiles. Steadying himself over Thomas with his left arm, his right hand is still cupped around the side of Thomas’ head, and he rubs his thumb again on the cheek in assurance. Thomas furrows his brow, feeling a little confused about what just happened.

{^(HAVE “GIRL-FRIEND” NOT)^} _(Do you or do you not have a girlfriend?)_

Quentin shakes his head before removing his right hand. For a brief moment, Thomas misses the warmth. {NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT-NOW} _(No, but it’s not important to think about right now.)_ The hand rests on Thomas’ chest.

Thomas frowns at the line, about to start signing when Quentin interrupts.

{WHOA, NOT FEEL BAD YOU, ^(fs(OK) YOU)^ THIS NOT sh(MISTAKE). US-TWO MISS EACH-OTHER, UNDERSTAND. LONG-AGO SINCE SAME THIS} _(Hey hey, don’t go feeling bad about this, okay, Thomas? This was not a mistake. We missed each other, and it’s been a long time since we had something like this for ourselves.)_

Thomas looks away, feeling a little conflicted. {YEAH BUT I} He stops when his chin is held by a finger and thumb and is turned so that he is looking back up at his dear friend, who had just closed his eyes and was shaking his head. Then as Quentin opens his eyes once more, his hand is being covered by Quentin’s hand and is guided to rest on his own chest.

{~(“KNOW-THAT” ILY)~} The Spanish male places his ILY hand atop Thomas’ clothed chest, where the heart is, and Thomas feels his breath hitch a little, giving a few nods. _(Just know that I love you, Thomas.)_

In that position, Thomas cannot help but feel inferior and small under Quentin’s hovering presence. He notices how taut Quentin’s muscles are and with the sunlight bathing the bedroom, how strong of an appearance that the toned body makes.

{^(YOU WANT THIS HAPPEN “?” #IF FUTURE HAPPEN, “GO-AHEAD” WANT “THIS-US” AGAIN)^} _(Did you want this to happen, Quentin? And let’s say, it happens again in the future…do you want this to happen again?)_

Quentin nods his head in a casual manner before leaning back on his knees. He hunches a little over, as though he is trying to assure Thomas of their closeness. {nh(I #DO). UNDERSTAND, INTERCOURSE sh(NOT REALLY OPTION) *He smiles, earning a smile from Thomas as well* BUT “THIS-US” fs(CUDDLE), FUTURE “SLEEP-TOGETHER” NOT MUCH CLOTHES, “MAKE-OUT”, MASTURBATE, nh(FINE). THREE MORE ACTION COMPARE OTHER GUY FRIEND++ THEM} _(Yes, I didn’t mind for this to happen, and I want to have this again. But just know that fucking is definitely not an option, hahaha. What we have right now and will have in the future, cuddling, sleeping together with minimal clothing, making out, even jacking off together, all that is fine with me, Thomas. That’s three more than what I usually do with some guy friends that we know.)_

Thomas cannot help but blush at his friend’s explanation. Quentin relishes in the sight of his adorable flustered friend.

[^(REMEMBER COLLEGE YEAR “ALL-THROUGHOUT”)^ DRUNK KISS, “TRUE-BIZ” SOBER “MAKE-OUT”, fs(CUDDLE), “SLEEP-TOGETHER”... #FUN TIME++] _(Remember our college years? There were some drunken kisses between us, definitely some make-out sessions, some nights when we cuddled and slept together… Those were the good times…)_

Thomas remembers very vividly those moments, and he remembers the wet dreams he had with Quentin. Even back then, Quentin knew of Thomas’ crush for him. He loves Thomas unconditionally, and there are things that he would allow to happen between the two of them that he wouldn’t allow for other guys.

Quentin then has a sly grin. [STILL REMEMBER HELP-YOU…] _(I still remember helping yo-)_

Flustered to the point of overheating, Thomas cuts him off by covering his friend’s hands, knowing exactly what his friend is going to say. Even though Thomas’ hands are average sized, Thomas feels just how big Quentin’s hands are simply from how he placed his hands atop the other’s hands.

The two of them stay silent, just watching each other for a few seconds. But then Quentin wriggles a hand free to place an ILY to rest on Thomas’ cheek. It causes the recipient to snort and chuckle before Quentin makes an open hand to give a soft pat and caress.

The Spanish male looks over to the clock and takes note of the time. It is now 9:25AM. Aware of Thomas’ legs still wrapped around his waist, he lets his friend know to let him up so he can check outside the window for his car, as Thomas had instructed him earlier before they were interrupted by Teresa. Once free, he gets up to walk over to the window and opens up the curtains. Sure enough, he finds his car still parked in the same spot and ticket-free.

Quentin then stretches his body to the full extent to work off the sluggishness and make his bones crack into position. He smiles as he looks back at his friend. [YOU RIGHT… *He gives a soft chuckle* FINE, ~(LATER fs(BRUNCH) FINISH)~, nh(WILL LEAVE) HOME #BACK] _(Ah, you’re right… Heh alright, I guess I can stay for brunch and then leave afterward to get back home.)_

Thomas does not have the urge to say “I told you so”, but rather, he raises his eyebrows pointedly to convey that same message. But when Quentin says that he has to leave after brunch, Thomas actually has the dignity to look dejected and pouts. His friend laughs and walks over to the bed, holding out a hand for Thomas to take, in which the latter groans and neglects the offer.

[WANT SLEEP MORE] _(I wanna sleep some more…)_

He is not prepared for the hands that cup his head, and the kiss that follows. He flails a little, looking appalled at the sudden gesture. [ns(QUENTIN)] _(Quentin!!)_

The said male chuckles and signs to his friend. [“GET-UP” SMILE, PRINCESS] _(Rise and shine, princess.)_

Thomas looks a little disgruntled. [NOT PRINCESS, ME] _(I’m not a princess!)_

[ _^(REALLY)^_ 1 YOU SHORT COMPARE ME, 2 I KISS-YOU YOU “WAKE-UP”, 3 YOU WANT MORE SLEEP, 4 SMELL FOOD THINK READY #SO SEEM ns(TERESA) ns(NEWT) WAIT FOR US, 5 YOU CUTE] _(Oh really? One, you’re shorter than me; two, I kissed you and you woke up; three, you wanted more sleep; four, I smell food and I think it’s ready, so it seems that Teresa and Newt are waiting for us, and lastly, you’re cute like that.)_

The younger male feels his jaw drop at the first reason, feeling a little dismayed, but then he blushes at the second reason, closing his mouth and rolling his eyes. He sniffs the air at the fourth reason and sure enough, there are whiffs of cinnamon waffles and fruits in the air.

At the last reason, Thomas feels like he was slapped in the face with that forward comment that he has nothing to counter-argue with, so he sighs and directs a small grin to his friend. With that, Quentin offers a hand in which Thomas graciously accepts.


	4. Brunch and a Parting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens next is funny...and pleasant...mostly.

Newt has just placed the last finishing touches on the waffles, with Teresa watching from the island table, when they see pajama-clad (mostly Thomas’ pajamas) Quentin and Thomas walking out of the bedroom, hand-in-hand. The two males are amazed to see that the table is fully set with utensils, placemats, napkins, plates, and sure enough, platters of food.

Newt smiles at the sight of the interlocking hands before he looks up at his roommate and friend. [GOOD MORNING]

Teresa looks smugly at her brother and Quentin before she raises her hands. [SEEM GOOD MORNING. *Her expression changes into a glare as she points accusingly at the two males* YOU-TWO TRAUMATIZE ME *She shakes her head disapprovingly* PLUS US-TWO *She indicates Newt and herself* HEAR YOU *She points at Thomas* MOAN++] _(I bet it was a_ good _morning, after you two blinded me with your ministrations on that bed. And we heard you, Thomas. Newt and I. We heard you moaning.)_

Thomas tries to muster up any ounce of dignity but fails when he sees Teresa’s last sign, wincing a little. He lets go of Quentin’s hand to sign [ **FINISH** ], an appalled expression on his face. Newt and Quentin are shaking their heads, chuckling at the scene before them. _(Teresa, shut the hell up.)_

Smirking, Teresa continues on mocking her brother, putting on an expression of pure bliss. [MOAN+ “MAKE-OUT” *She clutches her chest with both hands* ns( **QUENTIN** ) “MAKE-LOVE”] _(Smooching faces, moaning “Oh, Quentin!”)_

“TERESA!” Completely flustered, Thomas yells out indignantly, closing his hand into a fist towards her, as if catching air. “It wasn’t like that…” he hisses. [ **“SHUT-UP”** NOT SAME THAT] Next to him, Quentin is snickering, wrapping an arm around Thomas’ midsection. Teresa can only laugh at her brother’s face, her eyebrows raised up and making a pointed look at the interaction between the two males.

[fs(WHIPPED)] _(He’s got you whipped.)_ Not really seething but still blushing, Thomas rolls his eyes at his sister.

Meanwhile, Quentin signs to Newt <GOOD MORNING>, and Newt grins at the familiarity of the phrase. It all happens so fast, when Teresa catches the foreign sign language and makes a face at Quentin, causing Thomas to look over at his friend but misses the phrase, but he quickly notices Newt grinning.

“Wait, wha…? Did you…just tell _Newt_ … that _he_ has great _boobs_?” The female has an expression of utter bewilderment but is half-laughing at the absurdity of the situation. [^(YOU TELL-HIM HE HAVE GOOD BREAST++)v fs(BOOBS) “?”]

It is a bit of a pandemonium that follows right after the last word came out of Teresa. Newt roars out laughing full-bodied; Thomas is looking confused and completely lost at what he is seeing; Quentin is smiling but oblivious to Newt’s laughing as he explains to Teresa he was signing in BSL, but then he sees Newt laughing still, and he chuckles; and Teresa, already noticing Newt’s actions, she is giving Quentin a look of both bewilderment and skepticism, mentally questioning his sexuality.

“Uh-huh, _sure, Cassanova_ …” Teresa cracks a smile, giving two slow nods. [ **SURE** fs(CASSANOVA)...FLIRT] Quentin snickers and shakes his head in amusement. _(You are such a flirt...)_

[NOT FLIRT-HIM, LAST NIGHT RECENT MEET, “COME-ON”.] _(I’m not flirting with Newt…we just met last night, Teresa, get real.)_

He then leads Thomas to a chair and his friend accepts the seat, the same spot from last night. He and Teresa follow suit, taking the same seats.

“Okay wait, Newt, how the hell did you people decide on the signs to be like so? How are boobs similar to morning? Our sign represents the horizon and then the morning sunrise. How does _this_ mean morning?” Teresa speaks up to Newt as the latter male walks over to the table with the platters of waffles. [fs(ASL) MORNING MEANING fs(HORIZON) TIME SUN GO-OVER BEFORE NOON. v(HOW  <MORNING> EQUAL MORNING)v]

“Tess, I’m surprised at you; you forgot already what I’ve told you long ago,” Newt lightly scolds as he picks up the platters and walks over to the table with a little bounce in his steps, unable to sign at the moment. “It’s similar to the sunrise and daytime, just on a different spatial plane…or so I’ve been told.” He places down the platters and moves his chair a little so he can take his seat, glancing at Thomas and Quentin, wordlessly asking if they were able to understand him, if any, at all.

 _(Tess, I’m _________ __ you, you forgot _______ ____ I’ve told you ____ ___. It’s (seminar/similar/?????) to the ______ and (datum/daytime?). ____ __ a different (special?) (plan/plen???) or so I’ve been ____.)_ is what goes on in Thomas’ head as he tries to read his roommate’s lips since he has not worn his hearing aids yet. It is not really a necessary action to be done, it is simply because he does not want to wear them just yet. He glances at Quentin, who grins and explains to him what he thinks best describes the intention of the sign. Funnily enough, both Quentin and Newt’s explanations are similar.

[“OH-I-SEE” nh(UNDERSTAND)… “2-5-8”…] Thomas looks back over to Newt and Teresa and is met with two amused pairs of eyes. _(Oh I see, I get it now… Huh, that’s interesting.)_

[^(GO-AHEAD EAT ALL-THIS)^] Newt signs to the group, his face showing restrained excitement. _(Shall we go ahead and eat?)_

[ **YES** THANK YOU]  [“THANK-YOU” COOK ALL-THIS]  [“SMELL-IN” WOW DELICIOUS, CANNOT WAIT] _(Yes, thanks Newt!!) (Thank you, Newt, for cooking all this breakfast.) (Oh wow, it smells so delicious; I can’t wait!)_ These are the wholeheartedly replies from the siblings and Quentin, and the four of them dig in.

Breakfast goes on for an hour and a half, with silence filling the apartment but satisfying the four people. It is a companionable and convenient silence since, similar to last night’s dinner, sign language takes to the stage. To Thomas’ mild surprise, Teresa has not brought up any further comment about this morning’s incident. The words they talk with are of the food, compliments to the chef, eating lifestyles, cultural food, and plans to go out and eat as a group sometime in the near future.

After breakfast, the siblings go to shower in separate bathrooms while Newt and Quentin clean up the table and stow away food. The taller Spanish male takes the chance to get to know Thomas’ roommate better.

[THINK YOU AND ns(THOMAS) ~(ROOMMATE)~ WILL FUN **ENJOY** THIS YEAR, AMAZING EXPERIENCE WOW. *Quentin shakes his head in defeat* I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU FROM ENGLAND “WHOO” FAR-THERE. WANT PRACTICE INTERACT, BUT RESPECT-YOU #IF FEEL WANT MORE PRACTICE fs(ASL), nh(UNDERSTAND).] _(I think you and Thomas willl have a great year as roommates. It’ll be quite an amazing experience. I still cannot believe you’re from England, it’s on the other side of the ocean! I wish I could practice BSL with you but if you want to only practice with ASL, I’ll understand.)_

[NAH **“FINE-WITH-ME”**. ~(WHEN #DO VISIT-HERE)/nh(WILL PRACTICE)~ WITH YOU TOO. *Newt smiles a little at a memory* FUNNY, YESTERDAY TELL ns(THOMAS) I nh(WILLING) EXCHANGE fs(ASL BSL) EXCHANGE **PRACTICE <"**EVERY-DAY"> *Newt makes an "oops" face* "EVERY-DAY". YOU-TWO PRACTICE CAN ON <”VIDEO-CALL”>... ALSO ~(PHONE)~, nh(HAVE fs(APP)) ON WORLD SIGN++. “WHOO”] <BENEFICIAL> [UH… “TAKE-CHANCE”] At the “oops” face, Quentin furrows his brow in confusion, before realizing what it was supposed to mean in BSL. ASL on the other hand has a negative connotation.  _(No, dude, it’s totally fine with me. Tell you what, whenever you’re stopping by, we can practice in BSL. It’s a little funny that just yesterday, I told Thomas the same thing, that I was more than happy to toss up ASL and BSL in our daily conversations, practice and get the hang of it. The two of you can also practice through video chat or y’know, there’s an app on your phone that has signs from different nations all over the world. It’s ridiculously brilliant.)_

[COOL] Quentin nods slowly, grinning, but his eyes slowly drift over to the refrigerator door where there are some photo magnets, and his eyes seem to notice there are frequent appearances of an African-American male next to Newt, some being romantically cheesy, and some with their small group of friends in which Teresa is in. [HEY CURIOUS, v(WHO THAT HE)v *He points to one picture of Newt with the guy kissing him on the cheek*] BLACK GUY ^(YOU-TWO RELATIONSHIP “?”)^] _(I’m a little curious, who’s the guy in that picture next to you? Seems like you’re in a relationship?)_

In an instant, Quentin’s mind takes him to last night’s dinner chat, when the four of them were talking about how they met, mostly on how Teresa met Newt through their mutual friend, Alby; and how Thomas and Teresa had met Alby a few times in high school. The siblings confirmed that Quentin met Alby a few times but Quentin admitted he simply does not remember; there were too many faces in high school.

“Ah!” [WAIT, I REMEMBER “LAST-NIGHT”. HE YOUR BOYFRIEND SINCE…3 YEAR, ^(RIGHT)^ fs(ALBY)] Quentin smiles warmly when he sees Newt nodding proudly. _(Ah, that’s right... I remember last night; he’s your boyfriend of three years, right? Alby’s his name?)_

Quentin’s eyes scan the fridge door to see another man frequent in the group pictures sans Teresa. [NOTICE ANOTHER MAN, TAN SKIN, ^(SEEM ASIAN… “?”)^] _(I also noticed another man, but he’s tan and looks Asian, correct me if I’m wrong?)_

Newt nods, immediately knowing who the Spanish man is talking about. [HE NAME fs(MINHO). HIS <FAMILY> FROM _^(WHERE)^_ ns(KOREA). HE SELF  <HEARING> *He winces a little when he realizes his slip-up with the BSL sign and fixes it with the ASL sign and a smile*… HEARING, SAME ME ns(TERESA, ALBY)]   _(Yeah, he’s Minho; his family’s from South Korea. He’s hearing, just like me, Teresa, and Alby.)_ He immediately breaks eye contact when he glances over to the bathroom, having just heard the shower turned off. Meanwhile, Quentin furrows his brow, casting a quick look in the same direction where Newt is looking.

[SORRY, HEAR THERE SHOWER OFF THERE. ns(THOMAS) SHOWER FAST COMPARE ns(TERESA) SHE TEND 15 MINUTE] Newt explains to Quentin when he looks back to him, adding a chuckle at the end. _(Sorry, I just heard the shower turn off. Thomas seems to take showers way shorter than Teresa, and she takes 15 minutes.)_

Thomas comes out of the bathroom a few seconds later, with a towel wrapped around his waist, his morning clothes in his arms. He acknowledges both his roommate and friend, then informs Quentin that the bathroom is ready to be in use. His older friend makes his way there, but not before giving a light slap on Thomas’ butt, making the younger male jump a little and make a face at him, which in turn, Thomas receives a quadruple successive combination of a lip-biting grin, a quick wiggle of an eyebrow, a wink, and an upward nod. Chuckling at his friend’s antics, he shakes his head and steps into his bedroom to change as Quentin shuts the door to take a shower. In the kitchen, Newt is amused although he tries to make sense of what just happened in front of his eyes. Giving up on figuring it out, he resumes the remaining of his chores.

By the time Quentin comes out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, Thomas, Teresa, and Newt are all dressed up and lounging in the living room. Thomas is sitting on the floor, with Teresa and Newt on the couch, his back against the cushion of where Teresa is sitting on. He waves to get their attention. [v(TIME)v] _(What’s the time?)_

The three of them look simultaneously to the clock on the wall opposite their seats. It is 12:05 pm. Thomas and Teresa both give their reply.

[#OK, ~(FINISH CHANGE)~, nh(WILL GO HOME DRIVE)] _(Alright, once I’ve changed into my clothes, then I’ll be hitting the road.)_ Quentin is quick to notice Thomas looking a little somber while Newt and Teresa give their thumbs-up gestures accompanied with nods, but does not say anything and enters Thomas’ bedroom.

Teresa taps on Thomas’ shoulder lightly to get his attention, despite him having already put on hearing aids after his shower. Newt watches on as well.

[I THINK SHOULD “RIDE-WITH” ns(QUENTIN) “CAR-MOVE” CAN ME “DROP-OFF” MY #APARTMENT. nh(ON WAY ARRIVE FREEWAY THERE)] _(I think maybe I should ride with Quentin so he can drop me off at my apartment. It’s on the way to the freeway.)_

Thomas shrugs with mild agreement. [fs(OK) FINE] _(That’s fine…)_

Teresa smiles. [PAH SAME AREA LIVE “CLOSEBY”, “LOOK-FORWARD” US-TWO *She looks to Newt as she indicates Newt and herself* GROUP *She looks back at her brother* FRIEND GROUP “INTRODUCE-TWO-SIDES” “HANG-OUT”. YOU FINISH KNOW ns(ALBY) AND fs(BRENDA)...OTHER sh(YET) KNOW BUT WILL MEET. WILL FUN!] _(We are finally living close by again in the same area, Thomas!! I can’t wait to introduce you to our group, even though you already know Alby and Brenda. It’ll be fun hanging out together!)_

Thomas watches with mild interest, not entirely opposed to the idea of meeting other people. He just has his work life to deal with first before social life can come into play.

[WAIT, I THINK THIS WEEK FIRST SHOULD FOCUS ME _^(WHAT)^_ WORK… START PROGRESS ~(FINISH COMFORTABLE “ALL-GOOD”)~ nh(CAN “HANG-OUT”). ~(MAYBE FRIDAY)~ PLUS, SCHOOL STILL HAVE YOU; ALSO WORK] _(Hold on, let’s not get hasty. I think I need to focus on work this week, y’know... See how I go along with the work flow for this week, and once I’ve settled and gotten the hang of it, we can hang out. Friday can be an option… Besides, you still have school and work.)_

[YEAH BUT UNDERSTAND, OUR FRIEND GROUP REGULAR fs(BOBA) CAFE. THAT WHERE I WORK, ns(ALBY), fs(BRENDA) TOO. FRIEND GROUP TYPICAL “HANG-OUT” THERE “EVERY-WEEK” SAME HIM *She points to Newt* WHEN CAN] Newt nods in agreement. _(Yeah but see, our friends are regulars at this boba café where I work, remember? Alby and Brenda too. It’s kinda like our weekly hangout spot, even Newt goes there too when he can.)_

[SHE RIGHT. BUT “HEADS-UP” #ALL HEARING, MOST “NO-SKILL” SIGN. v(HOW YOU FEEL “?”)^] _(She’s right, but just so you know…they’re all hearing. Most of them hardly sign. I don’t know how you’d feel about that…?)_

Thomas leans his head back, his eyebrows raised, in acknowledging the tidbit. “Hmm…” [^(THEY “AT-LEAST”...KNOW “YOU-TWO” fs(DHH) BROTHER HAVE “?”)^] _(Well…do they at least know you have brothers who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing?)_

Teresa and Newt nod reassuringly before the sister brings up her hands again. [YEAH THEY #DO, JUST… #ALL TALK. THEY KNOW BETTER HOW DEAL WITH PERSON fs(DHH); US-TWO TEACH EMPHASIZE THAT] _(Yeah, of course! They just…only talk. I mean, they know better how to communicate with a DHH person, we both made sure of that.)_ She looks on with a fierce gaze before she glances up to see Quentin coming out of the bedroom, her expression rapidly changing to a serene look. She warmly waves to him, just as Newt and Thomas look over to where she was looking at.

Quentin gives a quick rise of his eyebrows in greeting, his eyes scanning the three of them before looking over to the table to see if there is anything he left behind. He has his essentials in the pockets of his jeans, cell phone, wallet, and all that.

Just as he is about to sign, Teresa mildly flaps her hand at him. [fs(O)... ^(“WHAT-UP”)^] _(Oka-…yeah?)_

[UM…^(“YOU-MIND” CAN I “RIDE-WITH”)^ “DROP-OFF” MY #APARTMENT THERE, EASY _^(WHY)^_ SAME DIRECTION ARRIVE FREEWAY “GO-NORTH”] She receives a shake of head, clearly not minding the tag-along. _(Er…do you mind if I ride with you? You can drop me off at my apartment, it’s on the way to the freeway you’re gonna take.)_

[FINE, “COME-WITH”] _(That’s fine, you can come with.)_

[PERFECT *She smiles broadly* “THANK-YOU”++] _(Great! Thanks!)_

Quentin casually shakes his head. [^(YOU READY YOU “?”)^] _(Are you ready though?)_

[YEAH I READY] _(Yeah, I’m ready.)_ The last few lines of their conversation almost overlap so suddenly that Newt almost misses out on the whole conversation. Teresa goes to stand up as Thomas moves aside to also get up before Newt follows suit.

[fs(OK) EVERYTHING FINISH “TAKE-CARRY-HERE” SETTLE. THINK MY CAR HAPPY “MOVING-CAR-HEAVY-BACK” LOAD “OFF-TO-YOU” *He directs to Thomas* “USUAL-MOVING-CAR” SMOOTH “DRIVE”] _(Okay…I guess that’s it, everything’s been taken from my car to here. I think my car will be happy, with all those heavy loads finally gone and handed over to Thomas.)_

Everyone laughs at Quentin’s narrative, and Quentin can see that Thomas looks a little more cheerful than earlier.

[WAIT, “ONE-MORE” BEFORE FORGET] Newt makes his way to the fridge, leaving the others to watch him with bemusement. He takes something out of the fridge and they can see that it is a medium-sized Tupperware container with leftovers from last night. [CARRY HOME, ^(ONE FOR DRIVE)^] _(Wait, there’s one more thing before I forget. Take this with you, one for the road, I guess.)_

[WOW “THANK-YOU”] Quentin brightens. [“TRUE-BIZ” DELICIOUS LAST-NIGHT, “LOOK-FORWARD” ARRIVE HOME “CHOW-DOWN”] _(Awesome! Thanks, dude. It was seriously delicious last night…I’m looking forward to having some of this when I get home.)_

Newt laughs before giving a thumbs-up gesture. He then grabs his keys from the hook next to the entry door, and signs [“COME-ON” WE GROUP “GO-DOWN” “GO-OUT”], receiving no objections. _(Come on, we’ll head out with you guys.)_

Walking to the elevator, there are no words exchanged as the group passes by large windows that oversee the area and a little piece of downtown, Quentin looking through each and every one of them and often making side-comments about what he sees. Thomas is doing the same thing but is also stealing glances at his friend, with the memories from this morning playing in his mind. He can hear Teresa's and Newt’s murmuring behind him but pays no attention to them, picking up words such as “Alby”, “tomorrow”, and “exams”. When they arrive at the elevator chamber, they do not have to wait long, as one has opened its doors to reveal an empty car. The group gets on the elevator, with Newt and Thomas on one side and Quentin and Teresa on the opposite side. The way down via elevator is in comfortable silence, as Newt places an arm around Thomas’ shoulders and the other two are watching on.

[<EXCITED> US-TWO ROOMMATE++ I KNOW BUSY WILL BUT ~(KNOW)~, I WILL #BE <BEST> ROOMMATE fs(EVER) SINCE *Newt nods with a hint of cockiness*] _(Dude, I’m so excited we’ll be roommates. I mean, I know we’re gonna be busy and all, but you know what? I’m gonna be the best roommate you’ve ever had.)_

They all laugh, and Thomas cast a secret glance to Quentin just as Newt and Teresa share a look, oblivious to the two males’ eye contact. Thomas nods with a truthful intention, as he realizes that this year will be an interesting and exciting one, two sign languages, and his sister living close by. He does not have to be alone this time, unlike the two years prior when he lived in a different apartment in a different city.

The elevator gives a little jolt right before the doors open, and the four of them are walking out in pairs. When they reach Quentin’s car, Quentin sprints ahead to check the windshield, and sure enough, there is no parking ticket. He raises his hands up in surrender, having a sense that Thomas is smirking at him with a “What did I tell you?” look.

[fs(SO) YESTERDAY I “LOOK-AT” PHONE, TRAVEL TIME “TAKE-UP” ABOUT 2 HOURS. SHOULD BACK HOME BEFORE 2 IF “EMPTY-FREEWAY” LESS TRAFFIC. BUT ~(ARRIVE HOME)~ nh(WILL “LET-YOU-KNOW”) *He directs the sign to the siblings*] _(So yesterday when I parked, I saw on my phone that the travel time takes about 2 hours… I should be home, mmm, maybe before 2 if there’s not a lot of traffic. but I’ll let you know when I get home.)_

Thomas nods in appreciation and, suddenly he is hit with a sense of separation. He had been closer to home with the previous apartment, but this time with the new apartment, it is much further than he realizes. He does not linger on the thought long enough, as Teresa pulls him in for a hug, Quentin doing the same for Newt although the latter had been a little awkward with extending his hand first for a handshake but getting a one-armed hug from Quentin.

Their hugs break apart and they switch to hug the other. When Thomas sees Quentin approaching him, a feeling of homesickness washes over him, and his friend always has a keen eye for Thomas’ emotions. Quentin smiles as he cups the back of Thomas’ head and wraps his other arm around Thomas’ lower back, pulling his beloved friend close to him. He rests his cheek lightly atop his friend’s head, feeling the arms wrap around his chest, slowly becoming firm.

Enveloped in his friend’s embrace, Thomas cannot help but inhale his friend’s scent, the woodsy musk mixed with a fresh spiced cologne, reminding him of his hometown.

They stay like this for a while, even when Newt and Teresa have pulled apart and are watching them with soft smiles on their faces. Quentin shoots back a grin and continues to let Thomas hold him for a few seconds, rubbing his back tenderly and placing a kiss on his friend’s head when the shorter male loosens his hold and they pull apart.

{THIS SILLY, I AGE 24, BUT FEEL SAME AGE 8} _(God, I feel so silly; I’m 24 and I act like I’m 8.)_ Thomas shakes his head as he facepalms for a bit, feeling a little mortified and self-conscious about his actions. Quentin rolls his eyes lovingly and moves the hand that was covering Thomas’ face, using his left hand to hold Thomas’ chin so the younger male is looking up at him.

[I “CARE-NOT” I. *He shrugs* SEEM THEY *He indicates Newt and Teresa* “CARE-NOT” SAME. I nh(WILL MISS YOU) SAME, BUT nh(ALWAYS WILL *He lets go of Thomas’ chin* “KEEP-IN-TOUCH”) *He moves his left hand again to cup the back of Thomas’ head* NEW #JOB, NEW #APARTMENT, NEW LIFE, NEW PEOPLE… nh(NEW CHANGE) ~(I WILL VISIT YOU WHEN CAN)~, WILL sh(NEVER FORGET YOU) fs(AT ALL) ^(UNDERSTAND)^] Quentin brings his signing hand to rest on Thomas’ left shoulder. _(Hey, I don’t care about that. And it seems like they don’t care either… I’m gonna miss you very much, Tommy…but we’ll always keep in touch, ok? It’s a new job, a new apartment, a new life, a new crowd… It’s a change. Now, I_ will _visit you when I can, you got that? I’m never going to forget you at all, okay?)_

If looks can be felt, Thomas is melting into mush under Quentin’s smoldering gaze. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Quentin breaks the gaze for a moment, bringing his right hand into an ILY sign in front of Thomas’ space.

The silence becomes a little awkward for Thomas when he notices that Quentin’s hand has not moved and Quentin is still looking at him. He casts a quick glance to the ILY hand and stares up at his friend questioningly. He only receives a pointed look, a raised eyebrow, and a downward flick of the head. Glancing at the hand once again, he brings up his own ILY hand, and Quentin without breaking eye contact moves his hand to touch up against Thomas’.

Thomas blushes at the gesture, realizing what it means. His friend just simply smiles and their hands become somewhat intertwined by the fingers for a few moments, before they lower their hands and pull apart. Turning to Newt and Teresa, Thomas notices his roommate watching on without judgment, and then there is his sister, with the mock-disgust on her face.

[ **CHEESE** GROSS fs(LOLOLOL) *Teresa is smiling* ns(QUENTIN) v(#WTF)v  ILY *She links her ILY hands together* SAME KISS *She laughs wholeheartedly* CLEVER THAT] _(Oh my god, that was so disgustingly cheesy, hahaha! That’s like a kiss right there, Quentin. I like that seriously, it’s so clever.)_

Quentin laughs and thanks her. He looks over to Thomas and sees him smiling again. The affection for the guy just seems to overflow in him, to the point where he brings his hand around to cradle the right side of Thomas’ head and kiss the left temple. It causes Thomas to close his eyes for a moment and look over to him. There is a nod from him before he says [fs(OK) YOU SHOULD “GO-AHEAD”]. _(Okay, Quentin… I guess you should get going now…)_

Quentin nods, agreeing. He caresses Thomas’ head before he draws his hand away to signal Teresa to come along. Heading over to the passenger side, he unlocks and opens the door for his friend’s sister, in which Teresa thanks him and shoots the other males a smug look. [WOW, GENTLEMAN *She directs her gaze to her brother* GUESS MARRY WILL, TEASE++] Thomas laughs, rolling his eyes as he stands next to Newt, who places an arm around his shoulders. _(Wow, he is_ such _a gentleman. I guess we’re gonna get married! Just kidding.)_

Once Teresa gets into the car and Quentin closes the door, he makes his way around the back of the car, casting a wink and giving a two-fingered salute to the two males. After Thomas sees Quentin getting onto the driver’s seat and buckling up, he spots Teresa signing to him through the rear window with Quentin leaning back as to not obstruct the conversation.

[WILL TEXT-YOU WHEN ARRIVE HOME ^(*She gives a thumbs-up gesture*)^] _(I’ll text you when I get home, yeah?)_

Thomas nods with a thumbs-up gesture. [“THANK-YOU”]

There is a sound of an engine starting before it rumbles to a purr. The two males take some steps back to let Quentin’s car back out of its parking spot and, as the car reverses in the left direction, Newt and Thomas watch a passenger window rolling down. It reveals the smiling duo expressing their ILY signs with feeling, Teresa’s being ecstatic and Quentin’s being firm.

While he can see Teresa in his peripheral vision, Thomas has his gaze locked with his friend, and he does not miss the subtle IRLY sign before it changes immediately to ILY. He smiles and replies back with an IRLY sign, touching his lips before moving his hand forward, and changing his handshape to a wave. Newt is already responding with an ILY and a casual wave.

The car then slowly rumbles in loudness as Quentin presses on the gas pedal, and he and Teresa drive off to the exit where the car makes a right turn and disappears around the corner.

Surprisingly to Thomas, the homesickness has no longer an impact on him; instead, there is a thrum of anticipation and giddiness as he lets it sink to his head that he is living with a roommate that knows Sign Language, living close by to his sister, and feels like he is where he is supposed to be. He takes a deep shaky breath at the revelation.

“You okay, Tommy?”

Thomas is slightly taken aback at hearing a voice address his name and a gentle shake on his shoulders, and he looks at his roommate with a broad grin. “Yeah…” he nods, “I’m okay… Definitely more than okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IRLY = Similar to ILY but there is a letter R incorporated, which means: I Really Love You, a much more meaningful phrase.
> 
> Again, Quentin and Thomas are not in a relationship; they just simply have a deep intimacy of friendship between them like no other. Ultimate Bromance is fucking ultimate.
> 
> Teresa's bisexual but she's totally fine with having Brenda around. She has no interest for Quentin at all, only that they're friends.
> 
> New people will make their appearances in the next pair of chapters! :) (I wonder who they are............ *wink*)
> 
> TO READERS: I wonder if you would be interested in seeing me do gifs for some signs and/or name signs?
> 
> TO EVERYONE: I appreciate any comments that you have, and let me know what is on your minds; I can take them to be constructive criticism, positive feedback, future references, and/or boost of esteem. :)


	5. Sunday Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after the parting... A new character (or two) is introduced.
> 
> Oh yeah, there's some cheese. Be warned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sign Language Guide](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7983064)

**Teresa** **  
** _I’m home, aalll alone._ _  
_ _Not really, my other_ _  
_ _roommates aren’t back_ _  
_ _home yet._ _  
_ _Quentin just left_

 _...But not before telling me_ _  
_ _how great the morning sex was._ _  
_ _Getting frisky and doing the_ _  
_ _coo-coo-ca-choo_

 **Thomas** **  
** _Okay coTERESA!_

Thomas has let out a soft squawking noise at the text just before he interrupted his message with an all-caps script of his sister’s name. He and Newt had just entered their apartment a few minutes ago, chatting about Newt’s exposure to Sign Language and what was more to his brother, Aris and his upbringing, and had gone over to the couch to sit down. It was only for a few minutes into the conversation at the couch when Thomas’ phone had flashed intermittently in his hand, and Thomas took his time to check his phone and see who texted him. Teresa had managed to sneak in a side comment in that timeframe when Thomas was unlocking his phone to see the message in its entirety.

 **Thomas  
** _You lie, sis…_ _  
_ _Quentin and I did not  
have _ _sex this morning._ _  
_ _Even he knows that_

 **Teresa** **  
** **:** _P Are you /sure/ about that?_

 **Thomas** **  
** _Teresa, come off it, lol_

 **Teresa** **  
** _And even if you guys didn’t,_ _  
_ _then what did I hear this_ _  
_ _morning? A kicked puppy whining?_

 **Thomas** **  
** _You know very well how he is;_ _  
_ _Sheesh, just because I’m demi_ _  
_ _doesn’t mean that I’ve got this_ _  
_ _crazy sexual desire for Quentin_

_…...is that how I sound?_

**Teresa** **  
** _Lol…sure.... and yeap! :D_

Thomas glances at his roommate, with almost a questioning look in his eyes. _Is that true, Newt?_ He had let his roommate watch over his shoulder to read the banter, as he makes faces at his cell phone in response to his sister’s messages. If it was any other roommate, Thomas would have felt self-conscious with his involuntary facial expressions, but Newt was not any other roommate. Looking back in return, his friend can only give a neutral smile, although it is a little on the warm side of smiling. He looks back down to his cell phone, feeling a little abashed.

 **Thomas**  
_...Oh_

_I mean, wait_

**Teresa** **  
** (ಸ ‿ ಸ)

 **Thomas** _  
_ _I sent that message too soon…_ _  
_ _You are unbelievable Teresa,_ _  
_ _and why are we even siblings?_

 _Quentin and I did not have_ _  
_ _sex. Period. What’s your_ _  
_ _point of this game?_

 **Teresa** **  
** _HEY!_

 _I was messing around with you, geez…_ _  
_ _No need to get worked up, TomTom._ _  
_ _Just wanted to push some buttons,_ _  
_ _as courtesy of a younger sibling to_ _  
_ _an older sibling_

 _I’m just glad that you and I are living_ _  
_ _closeby, which means more hanging_ _  
_ _out times._

 **Thomas** **  
** _Okay, lol_

 _You, know…_ _  
_ _He may just as well be_ _  
_ _our brother… growing_ _  
_ _up together all these years._ _  
  
_

**Teresa** **  
** _That sort of notion does not_ _  
_ _help at all with my brain, bro_

 **Thomas** **  
** _My brother then_

 **Teresa** **  
** _Even if you imply it that way,_ _  
_ _Tom, then it’s like pseudo-incest_ _  
_ _in my head…_ _  
_ _If that’s the case… Tom, I_ _  
_ _love you but, you need to get_ _  
_ _your head checked_

 _And I don’t mean the one_ _  
_ _above your shoulders_

_;P_

Thomas almost chokes at Teresa’s statement. _Teresa…_ he muses, grimacing. _Geez…_

 **Thomas** **  
** _wtf…_

 _I did /not/ need to_ _  
_ _hear that from you_

_Well, read*_

_Or see that*, but whatever._ _  
_ _You know what I mean_

Thomas despite his embarrassment at the conversation is shaking his head with amusement. Meanwhile, the British male chuckles weakly, unsure whether to find the messaging banter funny or not.

“If I had been told that you two were blood-related brothers,” Newt makes to tap lightly on his roommate’s shoulder only to see that Thomas has turned to look at him, the hearing aids having already picked up on his voice, but he continues his action to rest his hand on Thomas’ shoulder, “I’d think you’re waaay off your rockers. I mean, okay, two consenting adults and a special connection...cool, not a problem. Two from the same bloodline? That’s a bit...too sticky of a taboo for me to accept. I’d still respect them, but as long as they don’t rub it on my face, I don’t see why we cannot get along.”

Newt earns an exaggerated rolling eyes gesture from Thomas, as well as a verbal “Dude, seriously?” accompanied with a small light chuckle, and he raises his eyebrows while shrugging in a mild act of defense. “I’m just saying…”

Thomas shakes his head in resignation. “Look, Quentin and I, we’re just close friends, with obvious feelings for each other, but not exactly wholly acting upon them. Nor do we lose control of ourselves and our feelings.”

“So an open relationship…? Or friends with benefits?” The last question startles Thomas, as he recoils back a little.

“Dude, we’ve never reached third base!” Thomas exclaims before he expresses a little hesitation, averting his eyes to his phone. “Well…we’ve done a few mildly sexual things but they were not very ...often...ish. The last time was when we were in college; sexual exploration, y’know?”

Newt removes his hand from Thomas’ shoulder to make a few gestures while speaking. “Okay, not that then. You could say you are romantically and platonically involved, but not exclusively, with Quentin…It’s sorta like an open relationship meets friends with benefits...unless he isn’t into other guys?” Newt receives a face from Thomas and a shake of head. “Just into you then?” A firm nod. “He really said that?” Another firm nod. “Huh...I see.”

“Yeah… Although...well no, look. Besides, who’d want to know exactly what we do or how we are? Let us be us, just as we’ve let you all be yourselves.”

Newt inclines his head upon hearing that statement. “Touché.”

Just then, the phone buzzes in Thomas’ hands, effectively grabbing his attention and ending the conversation in a timely manner.

“Huh, speak of the devil,” quips Newt with a soft chuckle, earning a smile from Thomas. His brain actually picks up on that since it is often a common phrase used nowadays.

 **Quentin** **  
** ‘ _Mas, I’m filling up at the_ _  
_ _gas station rn, but I’m_ _  
_ _close to the freeway_

_You holding up alright?_

**Thomas** _  
_ _Yeah, just hanging out_ _  
_ _w/ Newt in our apt_

 _Teresa already texted_ _  
_ _me that you would be_ _  
_ _on your way after she_ _  
_ _arrived at her apt_

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Good good_

 _Lol, I can safely assume_ _  
_ _she wasn’t done teasing_ _  
_ _you w/ what happened_ _  
_ _this morning? ;P_

Thomas facepalms himself out of embarrassment, his mind bringing back earlier memories of Teresa’s mischief. Newt watches on, amused as ever.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _...yeah. Lol._

 _Texted me saying that_ _  
_ _you told her how great_ _  
_ _the sex was this_ _  
_ _morning._

 _Of course, I knew she_ _  
_ _was pulling my leg._

 **Quentin** _  
_ _She did...?_

 _…She’s not completely_ _  
_ _wrong..._ _  
_ _There may have been_ _  
_ _some things that I told_ _  
_ _her but she apparently_ _  
_ _had neglected to tell_

Quentin’s first line of his text message causes Thomas to experience the sensation of a near heart-attack, as his eyes widen comically and he sucks air with a soft inhale before holding his breath while reading the next few lines. Newt on the other hand raises his eyebrows with a look of mild shock. Thomas’ thumbs begin to work mechanically.

 **Thomas** **  
** _what…_

_Dude!_

Thomas finally takes a breather as he begins to type up his next message with way more than just one word.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _She texted me saying_ _  
_ _that you told her “how_ _  
_ _great the morning sex_ _  
_ _was” and that we got_ _  
_ _“frisky and doing the_ _  
_ _coo-coo-ca-choo”_

 _What did you tell her_ _  
_ _that she didn’t tell me???_

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Oh...whoa...she didn’t_ _  
_ _even say much, huh?_

Thomas becomes indignant in his reaction, staring wildly at his phone.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _WHAT?_

His heart is racing at the thought that Quentin may have confessed hidden feelings for him to Teresa that he himself had not been aware of, that Quentin actually may be head over heels for him, and he Thomas finds it a bit too much to take in. He stares at the moving ellipse balloon as he speculates that his friend is typing up what could be an essay.

It lasts a little too long for comfort than Thomas wants. Meanwhile, on the other end, Quentin has noticed the car’s gas tank is filled up as the numbers stop increasing. He takes the pump out of the tank and inserts it back to its original place before closing up the tank properly and snapping shut the lid. He gets his readily available printed receipt from the pump and gets back into his car and resumes typing.

 **Quentin** **  
** _Sorry for the silence._ _  
_ _Tank’s filled up and I had to_ _  
_ _move my car out of the way,_ _  
_ _but I’m still in the parking lot._

 _Look, ‘Mas, I told her that we_ _  
_ _took intimacy to the next level_ _  
_ _this morning and I found it very_ _  
_ _comfortable after being together_ _  
_ _for so many years. And then_ _  
_ _there were the past few years of_ _  
_ _separation that left us missing_ _  
_ _each other; it was understandable,_ _  
_ _because that’s just who we are._

Thomas feel some sort of emotion wash over him, and he does not want to deny it, but his heart almost aches for Quentin, he misses him that badly. The next bubble of ellipse appears and this time, it takes a while longer, and Newt and Thomas share a look. Newt places a hand on Thomas’ shoulder and gives a gentle comforting squeeze.

 **Quentin** **_  
_ ** _I assured her that there were no_ _  
_ _sexual acts going on when she_ _  
_ _had walked in, even when we did_ _  
_ _put on a teasing show for her,_ _  
_ _nor was there anything going_ _  
_ _on after she left._ _  
_ _She reminded me about the_ _  
_ _noise she heard from you,_ _  
_ _and it almost felt like a lie_ _  
_ _when I told her that it was_ _  
_ _nothing, that we were just playing_ _  
_ _Around. I had to amend, telling_ _  
_ _her that we were committing_ _  
_ _ourselves to that moment,_ _  
_ _that these feelings we have for_ _  
_ _each other will never go away._ _  
_ _You know very well who and_ _  
_ _what I am, and I you._ _  
_ _Your sister, she knows us well_ _  
_ _enough, but I think she finally_ _  
_ _knows exactly what you and I_ _  
_ _mean to each other._ _  
_ _We both knew where our_ _  
_ _boundaries lie, and why we let_ _  
_ _something like this happen._ _  
_ _It just felt so natural…_

_...would you agree that it was?_

Thomas is left speechless at his best friend’s words, his mind hazy with a few lines repeating themselves; _“It almost felt like a lie when I told her”_ , “ _these feelings will never go away”, “it felt so natural”._ He cannot bring himself to respond because of the sudden flustering warmth that washes over him, and his body almost goes completely lax.

There is a gentle nudge on his arm. “I’m gonna leave you alone and head over to the kitchen to check for any groceries to buy later today. Feel free to write down on the list on the fridge what you need, Tommy.” Thomas gives his roommate a nod, mouthing _Thanks_.

Quentin appears to be not finished with his monologue, as there is once again another text bubble with an ellipse from his end. Thomas can only wait patiently yet anxiously.

 **Quentin** **  
** _She wanted to know if I_ _  
_ _was swinging teams, if I had_ _  
_ _other guys like you to fool_ _  
_ _around with, and I told her_ _  
_ _that I don’t think I would ever_ _  
_ _want to swing teams, but you_ _  
_ _are the only exception for me_ _  
_ _when it comes to closure._

 _Given that there was limited_ _  
_ _time spent this weekend with_ _  
_ _each other, Thomas, I wanted_ _  
_ _you to know that I still love you,_ _  
_ _deeply as your best friend and_ _  
_ _your “brother”_

 _‘Mas… I’ve been seeing that text_ _  
_ _bubble appear and disappear, and_ _  
_ _doing it again...._

_Are you okay?_

_Thomas?_

The said male is staring at his smartphone, his words _“Quentin, I…”_ still worded in the text box but remain unsent. _I do agree that it felt so natural… but it won’t be everyday that I get to see you,_ he says in his head. After a while, his thumbs begin to work with his brain on replying back.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _Quentin I...I do think_ _  
_ _that way with you_

 _And yeah, it felt natural_ _  
_ _this morning, what happened_ _  
_ _between us, although I was a_ _  
_ _little exhilarated from what you_ _  
_ _did to me…_

Thomas blushes furiously at the memory of their actions. _I am 24, for the love of holy. Enough with the blushes._

 **Thomas** _  
_ _It’s just… it won’t be_ _  
_ _An everyday/regular basis_ _  
_ _sort of thing with us…._

 **Quentin**  
_That’s true… and I don’t want_ _  
_ _what happened to be a one-time_ _  
_ _thing, only if you’re okay with that._

 _I guess you’re like my somewhat_ _  
_ _exclusive boyfriend, or romantic_ _  
_ _partner. Haha.... I’ve heard of_ _  
_ _polyamorous relationships,_ _  
_ _so I could say we’re in an open_ _  
_ _Relationship? Or you’re my only_ _  
_ _guy friend with benefits?_

 _I don’t wanna make you feel_ _  
_ _like you’re a third wheel; I_ _  
_ _just want you to be comfortable_ _  
_ _with who you want to be with._ _  
_ _And if that’s including me, then_ _  
_ _I’m all for it. There’s only that_ _  
_ _sharing bit._

Thomas is shocked at these messages that he doesn’t know how to reply back with something not so ridiculous.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _Is that possible?_

 _I mean, I wouldn’t object to that._ _  
_ _It’s just...if I do find someone here…_ _  
_ _And I...focus on that relationship_ _  
_ _with that person… would you_ _  
_ _feel left out?_

 **Quentin** **  
** _Honestly? No. We’ve always_ _  
_ _been in touch so often that_ _  
_ _we’re a part of each other’s_ _  
_ _lives. Except for the last few_ _  
_ _years, that wasn’t so very often_

_lol_

_But point is, you and I._ _  
_ _I’m here for you always, even_ _  
_ _when I find a girlfriend._

Thomas takes a deep breath at that, feeling oddly comforted by his friend’s words. It’s not going to be a long-distance relationship between them; it’s a profound unshakeable bond they have.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _That’s reassuring, I think. :)_

 _Quent, I find it a bit funny_ _  
_ _when you mentioned “brother”_ _  
_ _because I had told Teresa that_ _  
_ _I consider you as my family_ _  
_ _brother, even if we are not_ _  
_ _related by blood._ _  
_ _Someone wise once said,_ _  
_ _“Family don’t end in blood.”_

 _And this is what she said:_ _  
_ _((Even if you imply it that way,_ _  
_ _Tom, then it’s like pseudo-incest_ _  
_ _in my head…_ _  
_ _If that’s the case… Tom, I_ _  
_ _love you but, you need to get_ _  
_ _your head checked_

 _And I don’t mean the one_ _  
_ _above your shoulders_

_;P ))_

**Quentin**

_Wow, a lot of sass, she has._

_Isn’t that quote from that one tv_ _  
_ _show, uh...Natural Hunters?_ _  
_ _Super Hunters?_

_Oh, nvm. Supernatural. Lol._

**Thomas** _  
_ _That’s Teresa to you, Quent…_

_lol, oh you…_

**Quentin** _  
_ _lol_

 _Well… I’m glad you and I_ _  
_ _are on the same page on_ _  
_ _how we feel for each other._ _  
_ _What you and I have, is_ _  
_ _something special, almost_ _  
_ _soulmates-like kind of_ _  
_ _special._

 **Thomas** _  
_ _yeahh_

 _Just before you texted me_ _  
_ _earlier, I had a small talk with_ _  
_ _Newt about this, because he_ _  
_ _had read what Teresa had to_ _  
_ _say, and believe me, Newt got_ _  
_ _a little dubious about you and I,_ _  
_ _with the idea of ‘brothers’. But_ _  
_ _I told him this:_

 _Who’d want to know exactly_ _  
_ _what we do or how we are?_ _  
_ _Let us be us, just as we’ve_ _  
_ _let you all be yourselves_

 _Being Deaf is one thing, but_ _  
_ _having more than one trait_ _  
_ _or identity about yourself_ _  
_ _opens up a new perspective_ _  
_ _for others to acknowledge_ _  
_ _over the course of time…_

 _The changes may be subtle,_ _  
_ _but they may also be blatant_

 **Quentin** **  
** _You got that right, Thomas…_ _  
_ _Haha, this is why I love you._ _  
_ _You got that thinking cap on_ _  
_ _your head all the time and_ _  
_ _there are moments when you_ _  
_ _deliver such profound thoughts_ _  
_ _that I’m so amazed sometimes._

 _And you’ve certainly lived up_ _  
_ _to your name sign, hahaha~_

 _Alright, dude, I’m just about_ _  
_ _ready to drive up now. I’ll let_ _  
_ _you know when I get home._

 **Thomas**  
_Lol_

_Okay… Drive safe, Quentin_

**Quentin** _  
_ _Gracias_ _  
_ _Besos y abrazos, babe ;*_

Thomas knows that it’s a bit of a inside joke between them with the term of endearment, but somehow, reading that text instills a feeling of giddiness and a familiar sense of comfort. He gives a sigh of contentment. He then gets up and walks over to the kitchen island, casting a glance towards Newt, who is looking back as he closes the fridge door, patiently waiting for him to say something or anything.

He smiles at his roommate.

“All’s well that ends well, then?” Newt inquires. A nod. He smiles. “Good to hear.” He then brings up his hands. [fs(OK) I FINISH “WRITE-LIST” INSTINCT WE NEED, BUT ~(YOU nh(“GO-AHEAD”) “LOOK-AT-PAD”)~ “READ-THROUGH” ~(ANYTHING NEED)~ “PUT-DOWN”. ~(FINISH)~ nh(US-TWO LEAVE) ^(“THUMBS-UP”)^]“Alright, I’m done with writing out the things I feel that we need, but...you go on and check it out; add anything else you’ll need. We’ll leave as soon as you’re done. Cool?”

“Yeah,” Thomas does not know how to comprehend of this sensation, but he supposes it is this feeling of elation that shakes him to the core. The fact that his non-Deaf roommate has a deep connection with Sign Language through his brother, and that he is very well aware of how to work with someone who is not of Hearing norm, really does something to Thomas. He does not know what else to describe it, but it just feels so damn good. He just knows it is going to be one heck of an amazing friendship.

While Thomas looks through the list and adds a few things, Newt retrieves his reuseable bags and coupons from the closet in his room. When finished, the two of them prepare themselves for a walk out into the neighborhood.

“So Newt, tell me a little more about your brother, Aris. How did you become so attuned, if that’s the right word to use, with your brother? I mean, like how did you become so...good at establishing such an alliance with a Deaf individual like your brother? Did he have any friends that you met?” The two of them had been walking in companionable silence upon exiting their apartment and the building, although Thomas was the first to break the silence after they exit the building with his curiosity for BSL. They hit it off with BSL/ASL mini-lessons, before a thought had come across Thomas’ mind, which causes him to bring up these said questions. At that point, they are entering a grocery store, with Thomas wheeling in a shopping cart.

“Ah, yeah, a part of that has to do with your sister, honestly.” Placing the reusable bags in the cart, Newt takes out their shopping list from his coat pocket and spots the first few lines of their list to be fruits and vegetables. He subconsciously makes his way over to the fresh produce section of the grocery store and Thomas follows. “But for the most part, it was mostly from a little of what my brother taught me and our parents, and a little of what I had learned from research growing up. He had some friends when he was younger and living here in the States but then we sort of lived a bit far from where his friends usually live. He really didn’t have much of a social life, see.” Newt stops in front of the aisle that has crates of berries stacked side by side, and grabs a couple of “keep-fresh” plastic bags.

“It’s not that he couldn’t hang out, it was more that he didn’t really wanna hang out? He was a bit strange, to be honest. One would think being Deaf is already isolated enough from the Hearing majority, but to be even more introverted, especially for a kid...” Newt shakes his head, “very strange, really. I’d even check up on him and encourage him to hang out, and he tries, but most times,  he just doesn’t bother. He did well in school, believe me. Maybe it’s the duality of sign languages that got him feeling tired and shut down a bit back then…” He trails off, as he starts to scan the berries for any readily ripe ones packed in boxes.

“Huh...I see. Oh, I’ll go get the vegetables you wrote down in here, tomatoes, red onions, and all that,” Thomas offers, as he checks on the list in Newt’s hand. He receives a grateful smile and a nod.

After getting the vegetables checked off on the list in plastic bags and in the cart, having met up with Newt at a different location in the fresh produce section, Thomas resumes his questions. “You mentioned he did well in school. Did he have some sort of technology to assist him, if not interpreters? Or did he wear Cochlear Implant...s?”

Newt replies with a guffaw as he places some bags of fruits inside the cart. “CI? Are you kidding me? Even if we could afford it, it was a bit scary of an option to consider...and honestly, it has to be on his choice. We couldn’t just impose it on him and have him go under the knife without him actually knowing why he had to be there.” He gives a slight shudder. “I couldn’t bear the thought of my kid brother having surgery at such a young age. My parents couldn’t either. So it was better that we learned Sign Language for him and for us.

“But he did have notetakers during school, and boy was he incredibly smart.” Thomas can see the proud expression on his roommate’s face as Newt glances at the list to find the next items they need to buy. They start heading off towards the aisles for spices and packaged food items. “I helped him learn how to read and write…” There is a soft chuckle. “I was too stubborn to let our parents teach, especially our mom. She taught him math at home, since she’s a mathematician herself, currently teaching at a school. Dad’s some sort of a white-collar guy, working for marketing sales.

“And Aris, he just got it,” he says with a snap of his fingers. “Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, or whatever the American education system had for their elementary schoolers. He got it. And usually, I don’t know...kids his age wouldn’t really excel, regardless if they’re hearing or deaf. And then when my family moved back, he had to adjust to the British schooling system. Fortunately, he was smart enough to handle things as they come. I’m really proud of him. But yeah, he had notetakers along with the interpreters, and he had his homeroom too. Everything worked out for him academically.”

“Oh, that’s great! That’s pretty awesome of you guys to do that for Aris.” Thomas grins.

“Yeah, I just wonder though. I don’t know why Aris never told us about a Deaf Community that can be within our home area back in Massachusetts. This is where your sister came in, telling me about that in college. You can imagine my surprise about such a concept of a Deaf Community. We could’ve sent him to a Deaf Institute but we were not going to stay long for Aris to complete his education, so we decided to go with mainstreaming. And maybe then, if Aris could have found out more about the Deaf Community, it could’ve been a lot better for his benefit in terms of development.”

“How so, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not at all. See, when I went back home for the first time during college, I suggested to my parents about the Deaf Communities, and maybe Aris could find Deaf peers to socialize and develop his sense of self. We did what we could to help him out, encourage him to find out more about the community. He just seemed to not bother with it...not aggravated, no.” Newt says with a slight frown. “I guess you could say he was a bit sheltered from the Deaf Community by personal choice. He would hang out with his Deaf friends from school, but outside of school, he would just rather stay at home. He really needed to get out there, see the world. He didn’t have any self-pity, don’t get me wrong. It’s just...he was so comfortable being by himself at times, and he’s even comfortable hanging out with me when I go back home. Just, I don’t know. He’s a bit of an enigma, even now.” He laughs as he scans the shelves that is racked with spices.

Just as Newt takes out a bottle of cinnamon, he gives a little start before shooting Thomas a meaningful look. “Shit, are you allergic to anything? My brother is allergic to cinnamon. _Deathly_ allergic.” The latter wonders if there was a moment in time when the family found out the hard way.

“N-no… No food allergies here.” _Why, how did you find out about Aris’ allergy?_ is at the tip of Thomas’ tongue, but he musters up enough self-control to hold back. He gives a reassuring smile.

“Okay, good.” He breathes out a sigh as he toss the bottle into the cart. He rakes the shelves with his eyes for some more spices when he lets out a laugh. He turns to look at Thomas. “I just had a thought. Aris is like coming from the word, Aeris...or even Ares. It could be Earth or God of War, y’know? From Greek Mythology. He loves the earth but he doesn’t like conflicts. He’s a gentle soul.”

“Ohh, yeah, I know a little bit of Greek mythology. Too many gods to keep track of though.” He earns a snort and a snicker.

“You got a point there.” Thomas smiles. There is a brief silence shared between them as Newt takes out a couple more of spice bottles, and toss them into the cart. Thomas looks further down the aisle to see some packaged food items, and having informed Newt what he saw, he goes to pick up some food items he and Newt had wrote in the checklist.

“So how about you then? How did you get so in tune with someone like your brother, like me? You said my sister had a part in this as well?” Thomas sees Newt approaching him with the cart, and he drops the items into the cart once nearby, shooting his roommate the question.

“Yeah, I learned some more about the Deaf etiquettes from Tess that I didn’t pick up back home in Britain before high school. Even through high school, Aris did not really teach us a lot about it. We learned back home in Britain, such as not to look away, or if you do, explain why; and how to get a Deaf individual’s attention at certain distances. And it’s supposed to be common sense when you have an interpreter present, you talk to the Deaf individual directly and not to the interpreter, but you know very well how that goes. The problem with common sense, is that it’s not really common.” He shrugs half-heartedly. “But I guess, what I learned more here in the States was making the information equally accessible in terms of concept? I mean, I’ve been simcomming my whole life, and I’ve often not use my voice when I’m around my brother. I guess, it’s more of expressing things that are not Hearing-biased? Ah, there was also the environment thing too I learned from Tess. And the lip-reading thing too.” And just like that, Newt stops in his tracks and dramatically closes his eyes that it spikes up a concern in Thomas.

Thomas can only furrow his brow in alarm. What is even more alarming is that Newt looks back at him with a guilty expression mixed with a half smile.

[“ **CHATTER-BOX** ” ^(ME)^] _(I’ve been talking too much, haven’t I?)_

Thomas blinks. “Oh... _oh._ ” He remembers suddenly why Newt brought up the question, and he smiles. “Hahaha, Newt. You’re fine. I mean, yeah it was a lot of information to process, but...in case you hadn’t noticed, there were times when I went to get some items and come back. I used those times to ‘recover’” - he makes the air quotes with his hands - “and come back when I’m fully ready to listen.”

Newt looks like he has been struck with awe and realization at the smart tactic. “Holy crap, that is _genius_ . I didn’t even _think_ about that. I was so caught up in talking and taking a breather in talking to check for food items that I didn’t even _realize_ you could make use of it as your recovery time. Duh!” [“DUH-ME”]

[BUT STILL, I THINK WILL “GO-AHEAD” SIGN ANYWAY. TIRED TALK(+)] Newt chortles. _(But still, I think I’ll just sign from now on. I need a break from all that talking.)_

Thomas laughs heartily at that. [“UP-TO-YOU”] _(Whatever you wanna do, Newt.)_

The rest of the shopping is dealt in companionable silence, but this time, filled with the flurry of hands making use of the space in front of the young men and between them. There are many pairs of eyes watching them with fascination or nonchalance as the eyes catch on energetic body movements and the ears pick up hearty chuckles and occasional “Hey Newt”s and “Oy Tom”s.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and retrieves it, as Newt is a little further away in the freezer aisle. Thomas rests his elbows upon the handlebar of the cart, unlocking his phone and reading the message that Quentin sent.

 **Quentin** _  
_ _I’m back home :) Traffic_ _  
_ _wasn’t too bad._

 **Thomas** _  
_ _Glad to know ^_^_ _  
_ _I’m in the middle of_ _  
_ _shopping with Newt,_ _  
_ _although I think we’re_ _  
_ _almost done_

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Shopping? Oh, groceries?_

 **Thomas** _  
_ _lol yeah sorry_

 **Quentin** **  
** _lol it’s fine~_ _  
_ _I can’t wait to eat up_ _  
_ _those leftovers tho_

 **Thomas** _  
_ _Hahaha, enjoy!_

 _Thanks for letting me know,_ _  
_ _and thanks for bringing my_ _  
_ _stuff over. You’re the best._

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Aw, you’re welcome._ _  
_ _Anytime for mi corazon._

_;P_

Thomas groans with a shake of his head, but it is a silly-happy kind of groan. One that leaves him smiling like a fool.

 **Thomas** **  
** _You’re such a dork._

 **Quentin** **  
** _I’m your dork, you know that._

Thomas rolls his eyes so hard, still having that grin on his face that he cannot help with.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _I’m gonna put my phone away._ _  
_ _Go eat your leftovers, and tell_ _  
_ _our friends I said hello, yeah?_

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Will do_

There is a slight pause in which a text bubble with the moving ellipse appears from Quentin’s end and Thomas stares at his phone in anticipation.

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Take care down there, k?_ _  
_ _Tell Newt thanks for the_ _  
_ _leftovers and the_ _  
_ _hospitality_

 _I’m here for you, only a_ _  
_ _text away <3 _

He smiles at his dear friend’s open-hearted concern.

 **Thomas** **  
** _Yeah, I will. Thank you <3 _

“That Quentin?”

Thomas looks up to the voice that belongs to Newt, but the sounds came off as “Da Canton?” in his ears, even with his hearing aids. It only takes a couple of seconds for his brain to connect the look on Newt’s face, his current phone situation, and the sounds to recalibrate as to the name of his friend.

“Yeah, that was Quentin. He just got home, pretty hungry no doubt. Said he’s looking forward to the leftovers. And thank you, for the hospitality.” He cracks a grin.

~~~~

When it is time to pay up at the cash register, Thomas takes out the reusable bags and place them on the conveyer belt before helping Newt take out the food items to follow suit on the belt.

A young female cashier, having just sent off the latest customer graciously with their receipt and “have a nice day”, turns to her new customers. “Did you fi-...”

[ALL THESE, I PAY. ~“NEXT TIME”~ “YOUR-TURN”. v(THINK MAYBE US-TWO TWICE “EVERY-MONTH”)^] _(I'll pay for all these. It'll be your turn the next time. You think we can do this maybe twice a month?)_

[nh(SURE, FINE)] _(Sure, yeah, that's fine with me.)_

The cashier stares a little dumbfounded at the silent conversation, but prompts a genuine smile on her face during the conversation. She recognizes Newt as one of the regulars, but is only surprised at the hidden ability because he is just that fluid. She is then met with Newt’s warm eyes and a soft smile.

“Good afternoon,” there is a quick, almost a nanosecond long, glance to her nametag, “Shelley.” He places a handful of coupons on the area between the scanner and the belt.

“Well, Newton, as if I did not know any better. Good afternoon to you as well,” she says cheerily before she starts up the cash register to scan the items. “I did not know you knew Sign Language. Who’s your friend there, your new roommate?” She casts a look towards Thomas, who is walking up and passing behind Newt, ready to start collecting items into the reusable bags.

“Hi, yeah, I’m Thomas, Newt’s new roommate. I just moved in yesterday. How did you know?” There is an endearing frown on his face. “Did you...actually understand us?”

“Hell no! I’m bad with languages. But this belt,” she gestures with her arms outstretched, “is stacked with food more than enough for one person, let alone a stomach.” She holds up an index finger, before wagging it. “Any idiot would think otherwise.” She gets some laughs from the young men. “And welcome to our area, Thomas.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Uh-huh!” Shelley chirps before she starts scanning the items. “Newton here’s a regular, so don’t be a stranger.”

“Alright, haha,” Thomas chuckles as he begins to stock the scanned items.

The next few minutes are spent with brief conversational talks as Shelley continues to scan, Thomas continues to bag the items, and Newt just watches the whole thing and checking the screen to make sure the items are accounted for. When the last item is scanned and bagged, Shelley then takes the coupons and scans them, leaving Newt a pretty good price for the bulk. Swiping his debit card, and while Shelley presses some buttons on the screen, he shares a glance with Thomas.

{“THANK-GOD” HAVE JOB “PAY-ME” WELL fs(LOL)} Newt signs without moving his lips, hiding his message behind a warm smile. _(Thank god my job pays me well, hahaha.)_

Thomas mirrors the smile. {fs(LOL) REVENGE “YOUR-TURN” “?”} _(Hahaha! Will you have your revenge next time?)_

Newt cracks a toothed smile, his hand slightly shaking. {FINISH} He then enters his PIN number.

Shelley looks up and finds herself lost on an inside joke. “I’m guessing this is about the total for the bulk? Who gets to pay?” She smiles weakly, just as she hears the printer running.

“Something like that,” Newt replies back with a wink. Shelley hears Thomas laugh as she watches the receipt run for a little while before it stops, and she neatly rips it out.

“Oh, well then. Off you go, here’s your receipt, and you two better not come back until in two weeks!” She orders in a joking manner and winks at the guys.

The two men roll their eyes in amusement and reply, “We’ll try.”

~~~~~~~~~~

After their refrigerator and freezer are fully stocked, their bathrooms and kitchen fully equipped, Newt and Thomas sit back down at the couch in the living room. Just then, Newt’s phone rings on the coffee table and Newt answers it to hear Alby’s voice.

“Hey Alby!”

Thomas picks up at the name and looks over to his roommate, who is looking back with a smile. [ns(ALBY) ASK-ME ^(YOU HERE)^] _(Alby’s asking if you’re here.)_

“Yeah, Thomas’ here. Did you wanna come over for dinner?”

{“SHUSH-LIPS” NOTHING} [fs(UMMM) THINK CAN, JUST MUST LEAVE EARLY _^(WHY)^_ I OPEN SHOP EARLY MORNING] _(He’s not saying anything yet… Ah, “Ummm… I think I can, I just gotta leave early because I open up the shop early in the morning.”)_

“Oh, okay. No problem, babe. We’re gonna turn in early too. It’s been a long day. I don’t think we have plans to stay up all night anyway, haha.” Newt chuckles as he shares a look with his roommate.

[ALRIGHT, YEAH. WILL COME EAT, AGAIN CONNECT WITH YOU...ME? YOU? *Newt has a look of confusion, unsure of whom Alby is referring to and shrugs with a smile, getting a chuckle from Thomas* US-TWO. “CATCH-UP”] _(Alright, yeah, sure. I will come over and join you guys for dinner. It’d be nice to reconnect and catch up.)_

“Good that. We’ll see you around 6?” Newt shoots a questioning glance at Thomas, who nods in reply. “It’s like 3:30 right now. Okay, Cool. Bye, babe. Love you too.” Newt then ends the call and looks back at his roommate.

“Leftovers for dinner?”

“No complaints.”


	6. Sunday Night Going to Friday Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with Alby, Subway Encounters, Thomas' first day of work. Mostly subway encounters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sign Language Guide](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7983064)

**_DAT DADADAT DAT DOK DOK_ **

Thomas and Newt are watching a show on Netflix about three boys and one girl as they try to delve into the mysteries that surround the hometown and a federal government business, when they pick up the knocking sound, reacting with a start.

“Jeez, I think my boyfriend’s at the door,” Newt says with a hint of slight annoyance, annoyed because he himself got scared shitless. He lets out a chuckle as he gets up from the couch and walks over to the door to unlock and open up.

Thomas snickers and puts the episode on pause as he strides over to the kitchen island, resting an elbow on the surface. The dinner table is already set and dinner is ready for the three of them.

“Hey Newt,” Thomas hears and sees Newt lean forward to share a light kiss with his boyfriend. He watches as Alby comes in and they immediately find each other’s gazes. The African-American male breaks out a grin, and Thomas may be slightly smitten with how handsome Alby is with that smile.

“Thomas! It’s been way too long! About time we finally get to see each other after high school!” At the end of the sentence, Alby has made his way over to Thomas, who has extended a hand in greeting.

“Yeah it has been quite a long time,” the brunette male nods and shyly smiles, as Alby warmly takes his hand and shakes it.

“Aw come here for a hug, I know your sister well. We’re not strangers, you and I.” Thomas immediately finds himself enveloped in a hug with built arms, and he chuckles at how friendly Alby is. He glances over to Newt, who is beaming without restraint and walking over to them, having already closed the door. The two of them pull apart.

“Let me get your coat, babe. And then we can have dinner,” Newt says as his hands reach for the back of the collar of Alby’s peacoat. Alby lets him take it off and thanks him, before asking Thomas, “So you just moved in yesterday, I heard. You’re familiar with this area, right?”

“Yeah, this was kind of my city jungle on weekends after I got off at my old work. I liked coming here, and the area’s really cool, especially with its relationship to the art community nearby.” The three of them start to take their places at the table.

“Yeah, Teresa said something like that a while back. Glad to hear you like it. Before you had moved in, Newt’s been ecstatic to have you, especially when he told me about how he find out that you’re an ASL user from your sister.”

“Yeah, I was completely caught off guard with Newt’s signing ability because I thought you,” Thomas directs this towards Newt, “were only being courteous, knowing the basics. But you knew a different sign language, and that was just absolutely crazy. Amazing but crazy.” He smiles.

“I’m glad you two got along so well, I’m sure this is going to last a lifetime,” Alby muses thoughtfully for a moment before he looks down to the table. “Let’s dig in!”

~~~~~

“So Newt, did Aris have any sort of technology at home, whether here or back in Britain, to assist such as the Bedshaker, Flashing Doorlight, and Video Relay Service?” Newt chews and takes his time to swallow his food, as he listens and nods to Thomas’ question. Alby looks a little puzzled at the names that Thomas provided and he glances between both of them, anticipating an answer.

“Mm, I’m familiar with the Flashing Doorlight, it’s that one that’s like a doorbell but instead of making a noise, it flashes,” Newt explains for Alby to understand as he replies back to Thomas, who nods at the explanation. “Yeah, we’ve installed that in the house actually. But the bedshaker, I’m afraid I don’t know what that is exactly. And Teresa told me about the Video Relay Service, you have that, right? On your phone?”

Thomas nods again. “Yeah, I have it on my phone. And on my laptop. It’s this sort of videophone/interpreter-relay call service that allows me to communicate directly or indirectly to the recipient via an interpreter,” he explains to Alby before moving onto the Bedshaker. “The Bedshaker is like an alarm clock, where instead of noises, it shakes the bed with a vibrating mechanism, sometimes equipped with a flashing light. Literally, the whole mattress vibrates.”

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Alby laughs. “That must be like one hell of a massage bed.”

Thomas bursts out laughing. “Sometimes it’s like an earthquake.” He gestures how hard the mattress shakes, accompanied with the raspberry sound he makes with his lips.

“Holy _shit,_ really?” Newt inquires with wide eyes, pausing mid-action with picking up his forkful of food.

“Yeah-hah,” Thomas cackles. “I _love_ it and sometimes I hate it. Because it’s like, just when you have a fantastic dream, you’re shaken awake and you think for a second that there’s an earthquake when really, it’s just your alarm clock.”

“Man, that’s crazy. Absolutely crazy,” Alby hoots as he picks up a forkful of food into his mouth. He lets out a soft moan. “God, Newt, your casserole is delicious, by the way. It’s actually even better than how I make it.”

“Kiss the chef, because that’s some lovin’ I put in there,” Newt winks at Alby and quirks an eyebrow at Thomas, earning an amused eyeroll.

“Why, don’t mind if I do,” Alby takes a hand of Newt that is closer to him and places a kiss on the back of his hand, causing Newt to falter and blush.

“Aww, that’s cute right there,” Thomas comments. “You guys are so sweet with each other.”

“This is like you and Quentin, Tommyboy,” Newt counters back with a light tone of humor. “If it wasn’t for the fact that Quentin is heteroflexible from what Teresa told me.” He takes his wine glass and takes a little more than a sip from it, smirking.

“Oh? Who is this Quentin?”

“Er...do you remember back in high school, I had a few other Deaf and Hard of Hearing friends and or classmates?” Thomas asks.

“Hm...I remember there were, but I can’t remember faces anymore. Quentin was one of them?”

“Yeah, you two have met a few times back then. But even he doesn’t remember either, when we brought your name up last night at dinner, haha. Anyway, that’s who Newt was referring to. But he’s from my hometown, so it’s kinda far from here. He and I are pretty close.”

Newt snorts. “Pretty close is an understatement.” He earns a light kick from Thomas under the table, which makes him burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, you two just have such a mind-blowing relationship that I cannot comprehend.” There is a look from Thomas that is more of a mischievous nature than a smug nature.

“Well, Quentin’s mostly straight, anyway. I’m the only exception for him when it comes to closure with guys. But regardless, I’m not really looking for a relationship yet. I wouldn’t be opposed to dating but I’ll find my pace around here.”

“Hmm,” Alby muses as he glances over to the fridge. He notices that there is one guy in particular that frequents in those pictures and a thought comes across his mind. Still having not let go of Newt’s hand, he gives a gentle squeeze to signal his boyfriend to look his way while Thomas is distracted, eating his food.

When he is successful, he mouths _Minho_ and nods towards the fridge, causing Newt to look over and make the connection. He smiles when he sees Newt caught up and looking back with a nod.

 _“On peut lui parler du Minho, mais laissez-les se rencontrer._ Give a little push, and see what happens,” Newt murmurs. Alby smiles at the familiar tongue, and concedes with a nod. _(We can talk about Minho, but let them meet on their own time.)_

Thomas picks up a foreign noise from Newt and looks up, but only manages to get the last sentence.

“See what?” His question gets the two men to look back at him and share another look with each other.

“There’s another friend I’d like for you to meet, but I don’t know when he’s not busy. He works at the cafe sometimes. I think you would get along well with him too. He’s almost like Newt here and your sister, Teresa.”

“Oh?” Thomas’ interest is piqued. “Does he know ASL?”

Newt blinks. “I don’t…”

Alby cuts in. “As a matter of fact, he does.” That earns almost a whiplash from Newt, who stares at him with such a taken aback expression. “Or at least, a Sign Language that isn’t ASL. I had just found out recently, and I never knew all those years. He’s a private guy sometimes, even during college. Minho’s his name, by the way. Minho Jung. Did Teresa bring up the name yesterday?” He receives a shake of head, obviously unfamiliar with the name. “Oh...well, I was at work a few days ago when Teresa announced that you would be moving in this weekend, and Minho overheard her talking about sign language to some co workers. He had gone up to her to ask if she could provide some sort of diagrammatic pictures for the co workers to learn some essential signs, that way it would be equally accessible. It was actually very thoughtful of him, and I felt bad that we never thought about that. I mean, I’m the manager of the cafe.”

“Minho…” Thomas breathes out the name. “Is that like a Brazilian name? ‘Cause I’ve met a few people from Brazil whose names are Minho...or maybe their last names had Minho in it?”

Both Newt and Alby’s eyebrows shoot up in indignant surprise. They let out a chuckle. “Uh no, Minho is definitely not Brazilian. He’s Korean, in fact. Moved here from South Korea when he was in middle school.” Alby clarifies.

“And how do you know that Minho knows Sign Language?” Newt looks back at his boyfriend with a curious expression. “I’ve never known him to be one that signs…”

“Because as I was leaving work that day, I saw him signing to his phone, seated at a table. And I could tell that it was not ASL.” He looks between the two of them as he speaks. “Granted, I’m rusty, but I know what I learned and I know what I saw. He was signing something different. Something like…” Alby lets go of Newt’s hand to try and mimic the signs he can remember but it is futile and he gives up. “I don’t know… but logical reasoning may be that he was using Korean Sign Language, but I’m not sure. To whom? I don’t know.

“He’s definitely single, I’ve never seen him with any significant others in the years we’ve known him. Otherwise, he’d tell me. And besides, no one would pick up Sign Language in a matter of days with such fluency for a significant other. You and I know that he has a younger brother,” he looks at Newt, “and he’s not DHH. We’ve met them twice at the cafe, no one signs between the four of them.” Newt nods casually.

Thomas puts on a thoughtful expression. “Well, I’m very curious to meet this Minho guy. But I got to deal with this week first, work priorities and all that. When our paths cross, then I’ll let you know.”

“I think you two will be great friends, like how Newt is to you,” Alby beams.

Thomas smiles. “Thank you, both of you.”

Newt slightly frowns at that statement. “What for?”

“For making me feel at home here, for making me feel much happier with starting out my life here.”

That orchestrates a collective “aww” from the couple as they share a look and look back at their third friend. “We’re glad you could be with us.”

“Cheers, everyone!” Newt takes up his glass of wine, and the other two men follow suit. There is a clink of glasses and they all share a laugh and a glance as they take their sips of wine.

~~~~~~~~~~

**_BZZ…BZZZ…BZZZZ…_ **

With eyes closed, Thomas scrunches his face in slight discomfort as he wakes up to the faint (though he is aware that it is actually really loud) noise of buzzing in his ears, and also to the sensation of his bed thrumming strongly under his body.

“Ergh…” he grunts before letting out a whine when he stretches across his bed, still feeling the vibrations under him.

**_BZZ…BZZZ…BZZZZ…_ **

“Alright, alright…” Thomas mutters softly, his hand fumbling to find the off button on his alarm clock. “I’m up, I’m up…”

It is 6:05AM and Thomas stretches to shake off the sleepiness heavily drugged in his body. The sun is slowly warming up and the sky is still a dark blue with hints of pink, yellow, and orange painted just above the horizon.

But of course, Thomas does not see that because the curtains are blocking the sunlight although not completely.

He gets up out of bed to take a shower and prep himself for his first day of work. Once refreshed and almost dressed up, he goes to retrieve his hearing aids from the dehumidifier chest at his nightstand and puts them on. Once the sounds fill his ears, he picks up his phone nearby to check for metro routes. There are a few subways he could take to get to his work and there is plenty of time for him to make breakfast for two before he heads out the door. It is only 6:30 and work is at 8. The closest metro stop from his apartment is literally around the corner, and the closest metro stop to his work is a block away. And it is only a 20 minute ride with one transfer. _Plenty of time_ , Thomas assures himself.

A buzzing noise, a vibration, and a banner alert on the phone screen notifies Thomas of a text message from Quentin.

 **Quentin** _  
_ _Good morning, Thomas._ _  
_ _Have a great first day_   
at your new workplace!

Reading it causes Thomas to light up in spite of himself.

 **Thomas** _  
_ _Thanks, Quent._ _  
_ _Why are you up so early?_ _  
_ _Don’t you have work in_   
like 3 hours?

 **Quentin** _  
_ _I do, but I gotta take care_ _  
_ _of some errands first._ _  
_ _Didn’t wanna forget to_  
 _send you a greeting. <3_

 _This guy, sometimes._ Thomas muses as he shakes his head amusedly.

 **Thomas  
** _ <3 _

Entering the kitchen, he notices that Newt’s door is closed, which means Newt has not woken up yet. He lets him be, and decides to cook up a nice omelette for the two of them. Prepping the ingredients with his apron over his undershirt and khaki pants, he smiles as he gets to work, oftentimes looking around his shared apartment and reveling at how nice it is.

It is 6:40 when Newt comes out of his bedroom, clad in pajamas and a bedhead.

[MY GOD, v(WHAT SMELL INHALE)v] Newt has an euphoric expression mixed in with his drowsiness, but he is also leaning on the doorframe, which is a mistake because he ends up resting his head against it. Thomas snickers at the sight, but it does not last long because Newt slowly stirs himself awake again, taking another whiff and smiles. _(Oh my god, what is this heavenly smell I’m smelling?)_

“It’s just an omelette for the two of us… I threw in some vegetables and whatnot.” Newt stumbles his way over to the stove to look at the pan.

“You and I will be the amazing chef duo of all time, I’m thinking. Screw Chopped and Iron Chef.” The British male gently claps on Thomas’ back as he hobbles over to the fridge, wiping off the sleepiness on his face. “Alright, you want juice? I’ll whip up a smoothie, if you like?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’d like to start my morning with tea.”

“Earl Grey?”

“Sure.”

“Two cuppa tea coming up,” Newt quips as he retrieves a kettle and some tea bags from a cupboard. “I got a text from work saying that a meeting got cancelled so I won’t have to be at work until 9. _Fantastic_. Although I don’t mind the late start. But whatever, I’ll just show up early anyway. I’m up and awake, so might as well get there early.”

Thomas is focused on plating the omelette and setting up the table that his hearing aids could only pick up some phrases from Newt. “I got a text from work...meeting got cancelled….won’t...until 9. _Fantastic_. Although...on’t mind late start...I’ll jusshow up early...awake...might as well…”

6:45AM and breakfast is served, minus for the kettle that is heating up the water as the two men eat. Newt compliments Thomas on his cooking and in a few minutes water is boiled and ready for tea. The two of them enjoy their breakfast in silence, and Thomas checks the clock to see that it is 7.

“Alright, I’m gonna brush up and get ready to go. I’ll be back home later this evening...whenever I’m done, I guess.”

“Mm, I’ll be here anyway,” Newt grins. “I get done with work at 4 so chances are, I’ll be here whenever you get home. And I finally get to have the first say of ‘Have a great first day of work, Tommy!’”

“Ah…” Thomas hesitates as he walks over to the bathroom, “you’re the second actually. Quentin beat you to it via text.”

_“WHAT?”_

“But technically you did have the first _say_ , verbally.” Thomas jokes.

“NO. No, this is completely unacceptable!” Newt fakes a distraught expression as he stands up and follows his roommate. “I’m your roommate, Tommy! I lost to your whatever-Quentin-is-to-you. I’m heartbroken.”

Thomas laughs as he finishes up his preparation for the morning with Newt closeby, and grabbing his bag, he heads out the door with a “See ya, Newt~”, leaving Newt at the doorframe smirking.

_~~~~~~~~~~_

**_Click clack… clickity clack…_ **

Thomas listens to the sounds of the metro as he observes his surroundings from where he is seated. There are a lot of people sitting down, but there are a few people standing and holding onto the rails and poles. He has a few stops left before he takes his transfer to another metro. WIth that in mind, he takes off his hearing aids and stows them in his shirt pocket, because there is no point in listening to anything if he will be on his phone.

He browses through his email on his phone to check for any unread messages.

Suddenly, his phone notifies of live video messages sending from his sister and a few other friends from his hometown.

~~~~~~~~~~

Minho is rushing down the steps towards the subway station, listening to pumped-up beats as he makes his way to work. _Just in time,_ he thinks to himself when he spots the metro coming to a halt at his platform.

After some people get off, he gets on the subway, he notices that there are quite a handful of people seated around and few standing up, holding onto the rails.

But one passenger catches his attention as he zeroes his sight on them.

 _He’s signing to his phone?_ Minho observes but is startled when the train moves and he hurries to grab onto a single pole nearby. _ASL perhaps?_

Minho has to admit, this passenger is ridiculously handsome. Even if the guy seems to keep his animated expressions low-key, his features are what draws him in. He tries to study the sign language, but nothing is coming to him. _He_ is _using ASL, and I don’t have any way of knowing ASL. Just KSL with my cousin…_

 _Shit, I’m staring,_ Minho shakes himself off from further embarrassment. He makes eye contact with a few _observant_ passengers who are staring back at him with slightly puzzled expressions and looks of nonchalance. He shoots back a weak smile and averts his gaze elsewhere. _They must have seen him before,_ he ponders.

For the next few minutes, it is hard not to ignore when that one passenger is the only one whose body movements are alive and moving, whereas the rest of the passengers are just sitting still, sleeping or standing around holding on.

Every so often, Minho keep finding himself looking back at the brunet male passenger. _Could that be Teresa’s brother?_

 _No, I cannot assume so quickly like that._ The beats in his ears are long forgotten and ignored, as he unplugs one earbud.

He looks up when he hears “ _Grandfield Station is next._ ” He turns around on his position to face the door that will open up so he can get off and transfer to another train. Little does he know that the brunet passenger is also planning the same thing, having ended his video message and getting up to walk up to the doors, only a couple of feet away from him.

~~~~~~~~~~

[SORRY, NEED TRANSFER OTHER TRAIN] Thomas signs to his phone once he has settled down on a different seat in another train. He is sending a video message to another friend from his hometown, a girl named Evangeline. [I STAY AROUND STEP-STEP-STEP-STEP 3 4 STOP, “GET-OFF” GO WORK. “KNOW-THAT” ns(QUENTIN) RECENT MORNING TEXT-ME ENJOY FIRST DAY. FEEL BETTER NOW COMPARE WEEKEND BECAUSE HOME FAR. I MISS YOU-ALL. “TAKE-CARE”] _(Sorry, I had to transfer to another train. I’m here on this train for the next three or four stops and then I’m off to work. By the way, Quentin texted me this morning saying “Have a great first day of work.” I felt better now than this weekend about being further away from home. I miss you all! Take care, Evangeline!)_

Having sent the last video response to his friends, Thomas settles for tucking his phone back in his pants and watch the tunnel walls zoom by.

There is a prickling feeling on the back of his neck that he is being watched, and so he shifts his gaze subtly to his surroundings.

His eyes catch hold of an Asian male’s gaze and even though the contact was brief and cut short when the Asian male looks away, it leaves him almost breathless.

 _This guy is intimidating_ , he stiffens up in his seat. He studies the man and his relaxed pose, although the grip he has on the pole is pretty strong. He looks away, feeling a little self-conscious about himself.

He cannot help but look back, feeling those eyes on him again. This time, the eye contact lasts far longer than the previous one. He is daring the guy to make his move, but there is no reaction from him.

The train is slightly shaking and rattling on its tracks, and yet the unwavering gaze shared between the two males remains firm. It is only after a little while when Thomas blinks does he realize that they have been doing a stare contest, and a tight-lipped yet warm smile breaks out on his face as the feeling of giddiness erupts inside of him. To his surprise, the Asian male does the same, accompanied with a wink.

Thomas’ eyebrows shoot up, and Thomas feels intrigued with this guy. He automatically looks away to nowhere in particular. He does not think there will be a chance with him unless he is open to Sign Language. He nibbles on his lower lip, looking back up at the male.

The smirk still remains on the male’s face.

The female voice announces the next stop, and Thomas feels something of a nervous anticipation because he still has a few more stops left to go, and this guy is still watching him.

When the train slows down to a halt, the Asian male turns around on the pole to face the doors. He looks back at where Thomas is seated at, and wags his eyebrows once. The doors open and Thomas tracks the man with his eyes as he gets off the train and heads for the exit without looking back.

He smiles to himself, thinking how random of an encounter that was. He shrugs it off and mentally prepares himself for the day that is yet to come. _He seemed cocky… I don’t do cocky._

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr. Thomas Brenner?”

Thomas looks up at the sound of his name being called from the secretary. His name is Patton. “Yes?”

“Ms. Walker will see you now. And welcome to WickeDesign.” Smiling, Patton extends a hand for Thomas to shake.

Thomas graciously accepts the gesture. “Thank you, Patton.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas’ first day of work goes without any hassles, as he proves himself to be efficient and an effective team member of the design office. He meets more of his co workers, notably Alvin, Anabelle, Leonardo, and Patrick, who often group up throughout the day. Alvin is a Filipino guy who is pretty laidback but has exceptional art skills; Anabelle is a Latina gal who is very expressive and loves to help out; Patrick is an Irish guy who likes to clown around a bit when he is feeling the tension; and Leonardo is a quiet, tall Brazilian guy who often tags along with Alvin, Anabelle and Patrick, and is quite mature for his age. Thomas notices he enjoys the company of the four of them, especially during lunch.

The reason why they stood out for him was that when Thomas met Alvin earlier that morning, the latter was quick to notice the hearing aids, and added a side comment that he knows some sign language because he took some courses in community college. (“Of course, that was kind of a long time ago, so I’m pretty rusty; but it would be cool if you can help me refresh my memory and we can sign when you want to.”) Upon hearing Alvin’s observation, Anabelle was fascinated and mentioned her brother is an interpreter in a different state (“I can never practice enough to get the hang of it.”); Patrick knew nothing of Sign Language nor how to effectively communicate with a Deaf/Hard of Hearing individual, but he was willing to learn; and Leonardo had a deaf friend when he was young but they would always gesture and write out whatever they wanted to say. (“It just seemed easier over time for us, even though he actually knows Sign Language.”) Moreover, they wanted to work with Thomas, not because they sympathize him, but they found him to be pretty neat and a useful fresh pair of eyes with a new and different perspective on design.

Thomas has never felt better about moving to a new location and switching jobs.

~~~~~~~~~~

Later in the evening, seated in a metro train, Thomas feels his mind reeling from how awesome his day went with all those people and the assignments he’s been asked to do. He chuckles when he receives texts from his co workers, his friends and sister. The first group sending each other random gifs and texting announcements and whatnot, while the second group asked about his first day.

After replying to all of them with whatever responses he can think of, he turns off his cell phone and stows it in his bag. He then leans back on his chair and lets out a sigh of contentment. He closes his eyes but doesn’t take a nap, as he leaves his hearing aids on to listen for the name of the station where he will have to transfer to a different metro to get home.

**_“Grandfield Station is next.”_ **

Once Thomas hears the name, he jolts awake and gathers his stuff, getting ready to get off the train and hurry over to the other train. To his dismay, there are a lot of people gathered at the doors, and Thomas will have to squeeze himself with the crowd to get out and race to the other train.

**_“...Grandfield Station.”_ **

As soon as the doors open, like a wall giving way to water spilling out, so do the crowd of people spill out of the train to get to wherever they are going, while the opposing crowd is trying to get in. Thomas is caught in the middle.

 _Crap, at this rate, I’m gonna miss the train,_ Thomas panics. He forces his way out with apologies and makes a dash for the train he needed to get on.

Breathing heavily, he leans against one partition near the door, sandwiched between couples and businesspersons. Gathering his breath, he observes his surroundings and closes his eyes, to mentally pace himself. _My lungs are burning, geez. God, I need water right now._

The moment he opens his eyes, he finds himself looking at the familiar Asian male seated far away from where he is, looking back at him with a neutral expression, a book in his hands. His eyes widen at the recognition, and immediately, the Asian male smiles at him. He receives a casual upward nod of a head, and is flabbergasted.

 _Mouth, stop making me look like a fish,_ Thomas chides inwardly before finally sealing his mouth shut and mirroring a smile. The Asian man looks back down to his book, and continues to read.

The next few stops have more people getting in than getting out, making any attempts for Thomas to approach the man harder and harder. When he hears the name of the stop before his stop, he saw the Asian male get up and head out to the other set of doors.

“WAI-...” Thomas startles himself, realizing that he had acted before he could think. He shuts himself up, saving himself from further embarrassment when the passengers near him were giving him odd looks, and what is more, the Asian male had heard him and is giving him a sympathizing smile. “Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” he mutters to himself, loud enough for the nearby people to hear and then disregard him, averting his gaze to the floor of the train.

When the doors open, a lot of people get off and all that remains are Thomas and a handful of passengers either standing around or sitting down. No sign of the Asian male.

“Ugh,” Thomas grunts in disappointment. _I just wanted to get his name…_

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, how did it go??”

Thomas snaps out of focus as he enters the apartment, hearing Newt’s cheery voice. “Huh? Oh, yeah it was great...and...yeah. It was mostly great.” He shuts the door.

Newt is cooking up dinner, lightly frying a fish fillet at the stove. However, he is giving him a critical eye, cocking an eyebrow at the distracted speech. “Just great? You don’t sound like it went great.”

Thomas shakes his head earnestly. “No! No, it was really great, awesome even.” He places his bag on a stool near the island. “I’ve made a lot of friends with my co workers, and we even have our group chat. Some of them actually have some exposure to sign language and or DHH persons.”

“Yeah?? That’s awesome!” Newt flips the fillet over with a spatula.

“ _Yeah_ …” Thomas breathes out the word, “...yeah…”

Newt turns around upon hearing Thomas trail off. “Something bothering you?”

“No...maybe...no, I don’t know.” He aimlessly looks around the kitchen when he lands his sight on the fridge and suddenly, he catches a familiar face among the snapshots. He lets out a gasp.

Newt cocks an eyebrow. “...What’s up?”

“It’s _him_.”

Newt looks to the fridge and frowns. “Who’s him?”

“That’s _him!_ ”

“Tommy, you’re not making sense. Who is this ‘him’ you’re talking about?”

“The Asian guy! You know the Asian guy!”

Newt raises both eyebrows, although he is smirking a little. “You mean Minho Jung?”

“ _That’s his name?_ ” Thomas croaks out, in a tone that makes Newt burst out laughing. Thomas’ face falls at the sight.

“Yeah, Tommy; that’s the guy Alby and I were talking about last night. You met him, I take it?”

“Yes, no...sort of.”

“Spill.”

“We kept staring at each other. Almost like we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other. And I think he was flirting. But he seemed so cocky. I don’t know. I saw him on the metro this morning. And then again no less than half an hour ago. What are the chances of that?”

“Um, possibly high if you just stay in the same car, or same area in the metro. But otherwise, very low since everyone takes their places at random.” Looking between his roommate and the pan, Newt takes the cooked fish fillet out and plates it on a presentable dish that is decorated with vegetables.

“Dinner is almost ready, by the way. Rice is cooked. Go wash up, honey,” Newt winks. “And take your bag into your room, that does not belong here while we’re eating.” He snickers as he watches Thomas stick out his tongue.

~~~~~

[INFORM-YOU I “HEARING-AIDS-OFF”, ^(FINE)^] _(Heads up, I took off my hearing aids, that okay with you?)_

Newt lets out a scoff and looks offended. <OFFEND-ME> [“NOT-WANT” HEAR MY FLATTER VOICE **TEASE TEASE** ] He laughs with his last sign. _(I’m so offended. You don’t want to hear me croon and flatter you? I’m just teasing, Tommy, just teasing.)_

Thomas snorts. [I sh(THINK) YOUR VOICE #SEXY, SORRY. THANK GOD NOT HEAR #ALL TIME, **TEASE TEASE** ] He winks. _(Err… I don’t find your voice sexy at all, sorry, Newt. Thank god I don’t have to hear you all the time, I’m just kidding. Just kidding.)_

Newt gapes. “NO DINNER FOR YOU, MISTER!” He goes to take Thomas’ plate.

For a second, Thomas actually believes him and hastily takes his seat and reaches out a hand to stop Newt. [SORRY, CRUEL. THANK-YOU FOR THESE] _(Sorry, that was mean. Thank you, Newt, for cooking all this.)_

Newt stares hard at his roommate for a few seconds too long that it makes Thomas uncomfortable and guilty. But all that dissolves when Newt breaks out a smile and lightly slaps Thomas’ arm. [I ACT(+). WOW YOU] <GULLIBLE> _(That was all an act, Tommy. Wow, sometimes you can be so gullible.)_

Thomas frowns at the last sign, not understanding it. “Huh?” He mirrors the sign, and Newt looks back with an almost disbelieving look but realizes he was not signing in ASL. He tries to think of the ASL equivalent, but opts to spell it out. “Gullible, y’know?” [fs(GULLIBLE)]

“Ah!” [GULLIBLE] The neutral expression drastically falls on Thomas’ face into a slight scowl as Thomas squints his eyes at his roommate. “Rude!”

“Okay okay! I give! Let’s eat, shall we? To your first day of work!”

~~~~~

Dinner is filled with topics of Minho as Newt gives vague answers about him to Thomas’ questions; Thomas’ encounters with Minho, and his workplace. The brunet tries to find out more about Minho, but Newt reminds him that Minho is sometimes a private person, and he has yet to open up more to Newt and Alby. (“Besides, wouldn’t it be best for you to find out more from him than from others?” Thomas grumbles but agrees halfheartedly.) When dinner is finished, Thomas volunteers to wash the dishes as Newt rests on the couch, feeling drained from his work. The two of them do not stay up any more later in the night, turning in early for work in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Thomas gets ready for work and unlike yesterday, Newt joins him in taking the metro to get to work. They try to keep an eye out for Minho, even though Newt could easily text his friend to plan and meet at the metro, but Newt and Alby shared a pact Sunday night to not intervene at all. _Maybe it will happen that it will work out for Thomas and Minho, but time would tell_ , Newt muses.

When the two men reach Grandfield station, Thomas ends up getting off to transfer while Newt stays on the same train. They bid each other goodbye and a “see you later”.

Thomas has no luck finding Minho in the next train, but he is thankful that he has his workplace to look forward to with the company.

Later that evening, as Thomas takes the metro, he checks around for Minho, but to no luck. He meets up with Newt though at Grandfield Transfer.

He thinks it was just a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

But he is wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday evening, Thomas enters the metro, feeling a little drained from work, happy but drained, and takes a random empty seat in the train.

**_CLICK CLACKITY...CLACK CLACK CLACK.... THUD… CLICK CLACK…. THUD… THUD THUD THUD..._ **

Thomas looks up behind him to see the window is slightly open and he mentally groans. He picked the worst seat for his brain to take note of. Even when he takes off his hearing aids and is unable to fully hear the sounds, there is a faint irregular rhythm of noise that his brain already recalls playing in his ears. He takes out his earphones and puts them on, touching some buttons on the screen of his phone to play some top hits. He stares out into the distance, trying to get lost with the rhythm of the music and not the rhythm of the mechanical sounds.

He does not realize how exhausted he is, as his eyes close shut involuntarily, and he is lulled by the swaying of his body to the train.

Thomas snaps his eyes open, startled on the fact that he fell asleep. Looking around for any available empty seats, he finds none, and so he sucks it up and bears with his seat until the transfer.

At the next stop, he scans his surroundings with his eagle eyes, but no one is budging from their seats. More people are filing in though, and he puts on his bitch face, glaring at the floor.

Meanwhile, a certain person dressed in his casual work attire, although his sleeves are rolled up to below his elbows, has entered the train and spotted a sitting Thomas before making his way over to him. He comes to a stop in front of the brunet, one hand holding onto the overhead rail.

~~~~~

Minho Jung looks down at the man he cannot believe his luck in finding. He notices how pissed the man looks and realizes how unsuccessful he was in getting his attention. Minho wiggles his leg a little, hopeful that the male will look up.

 _성공,_ Minho thinks to himself when he catches the brunet’s gaze and notices how the male recoils a little and widens his eyes in recognition like last time. _(Bingo.)_ He notices how the male’s eyes ever so subtly yet quickly glances at his arm that is holding onto the rail above.

“Hey there…so we finally meet up close in person.”

The brunet works his mouth to say something, continuing to do so a couple times before he closes it. He fumbles to take out his earplugs and frantically search for something in his pockets.

“I’m Minho, Jung Minho. And you are?” Minho extends his hand in greeting. He frowns a little, noticing that the brunet is paying no heed to his words.

The male looks up at the hand and further up to Minho’s gaze, stopping mid-action. _He looks like a deer caught in the headlights_ , Minho feels like melting into those eyes. “Uh...I’m sorry, I can’t hear you well. I don’t know what you just said, but I need to get my hearing aids…” The male lifts up a little from his seat to dig out his hearing aids from his pockets.

Just then, there is a sudden jerk on the train that causes some passengers to lurch a little from their positions.

“Whoa!”

Unfortunately, that also includes the two men, as Minho stumbles a little but thankful that he has a strong grip on the rail, but the brunet is not so lucky and almost loses his balance, his hands still stuck in his pockets, and he could have bumped his head had not Minho shot out his other hand to cup the back of his head.

“Oof!” Minho winces at the slight collision between his chest and the brunet’s head, even though one of his hands is cupping the back of the male’s head for safety.

There is a quick inhale from the brunet, whose head is now buried against Minho’s chest, and one of Minho’s legs stands between the brunet’s legs. He slowly draws his hands out of his pockets, one of his hands actually holding his hearing aids.

Minho supposes this is a little awkward but laughs it off, when he pulls away to look down at the brunet, stepping away a little, and allows him to put on his hearing aids. Out of his peripheral vision, he notices some people looking their way with fawning looks and a few of them taking photos. He can care less about that. _Evidence of their first meeting, and something to look back on with some laughs_ , Minho notes.

He waits patiently as the brunet puts on his hearing aids.

~~~~~

**_……...din din DIN din DIN._ **

A whoosh of noise fills his ears and Thomas can breathe again. Still feeling a little conscious about his position, with Minho standing so close to him and a hand placed on his shoulder, he shyly looks up at Minho with an embarrassed smile.

“Talk about running into you again. Sorry...”

**_CLICK CLACKITY...CLACK CLACK CLACK.... THUD… CLICK CLACK…. THUD… THUD THUD THUD.._ **

Thomas’ face fall and he closes his eyes with an air of impatience upon hearing the noise.

The tanned Asian blinks for a moment and is about to chuckle when he notices the change of expression. “Uh...yeah, no, don’t apolo… Uh, are you okay?”

The words are kind of lost amidst the mechanical noises and it is frustrating Thomas a little. Okay, a lot.

“I…” Thomas gulps, opening his eyes, and his nose twitches in annoyance at one loud CLACK. “I can’t hear you over the noises from outside the window.” He takes off his hearing aids in frustration and stows them in a pocket of his dress shirt.

“Oh,” the man says lamely as he looks up to the window. “Uh, do you want to use your phone to talk?” He takes out his phone from the pocket of his pants, and gestures it to Thomas.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Thomas stammers as he fumbles to get his phone from his bag.

The other male stops him with his hand. Thomas raises his eyebrows at the action, looking somewhat shocked. “We can just use my phone, and I’ll use the Notes app,” he suggests.

“Oh, okay, yeah that’s...fine,” Thomas complies.

The tanned male unlocks his phone and opens up the Notes app. He then begins to type as thumbs fly across the screen. He then passes his phone to Thomas to read.

_My name is Minho, Jung Minho. I’m sorry about invading your space earlier._

Thomas beams, as he cannot believe his luck.

_I’m Thomas, Thomas Brenner. And it’s fine, some things can’t be helped._

He is quick to notice a slight change of expression on Minho’s face upon reading his name.

_Are you related to Teresa Brenner?_

Thomas blinks in mild surprise before smiling. _Yeah, she’s my sister. How do you know her?_

**_CLACK CLACK CLACK.... THUD… THUD THUD THUD… CLACK..._ **

_We’re co workers at a cafe._

_The boba cafe?_

Minho chuckles. _Yep, the boba cafe named Pasteas._

Something clicks in his head. _So that means you know Newt and Alby?_

Minho’s eyebrows shoot up. Minho is not exactly surprised but he is rather intrigued. _Yep...I’ve known them since college. You?_

_Lol, I sort of knew Alby from high school, and Newt’s my roommate. I just moved here last week Saturday._

**_“Next stop is Grandfield Station.”_ **

Minho looks up at the sound, taking note that their transfer station is coming up next. Thomas looks at him concerned, though he has a feeling it was something about a usual announcement.

“The next stop’s ours,” Minho explains with a few gestures. “Come on.” He stows his phone in his pocket and offers a hand. Thomas graciously accepts and stands up, letting go of Minho’s hand to retrieve his bag. It didn't occur to Thomas how Minho knew that they were going to transfer at the next stop, but if it did, he had let it slide.

They make their way to the doors just as the train slows to a halt. Thomas swears he can feel a hand on his lower back, almost as if making sure he does not fall back or lose his footing.

The train brakes on the tracks to the point where the passengers are leaning against the force of gravity, and Thomas almost stumbles as he grabs hold of the pole near the doors. There is a sudden pressure on his upper back, and he has a feeling that it is Minho’s hand. When the train stops, everyone is jolted to their positions and some passengers actually lose their footing, Minho including.

“Whoa!”

Minho had stood on his two feet, leaning against the force to keep himself steady, his hand on Thomas’ back to support him, but the jolt suddenly disorients him and he stumbles to regain his footing. Therefore, colliding with Thomas once again and keeping him from crashing into the pole.

“Shit, sorry, Thomas.” They miss the smug looks from onlookers, but they can care less.

“It’s fine…” Thomas feels a strange sensation inside his chest, with the way one of Minho’s built arms is wrapped around his torso and his back pressed against Minho’s chest. It is as if Minho is being firm and gentle with him.

**_“...Grandfield Station.”_ **

It does not last long because the doors open and they hastily make their way out to get aboard their other train.

Once aboard their train bound for home, they are lucky to find a lot of vacant seats available. Taking two seats, they sit down and Minho waits patiently as Thomas retrieves his hearing aids to put them on.

**_……...din din DIN din DIN._ **

A whoosh of noise fills Thomas’ ears once again and Thomas can breathe again, feeling much better about his surroundings.

“Whew, I can hear better in here.” Thomas winces as he notices how loud his voice sounds in the almost empty car, effectively getting the attention of the handful of passengers in the train. “Ack, that was a bit loud…”

Minho chuckles weakly. “You sounded fine to me, Thomas.”

“Mm, I have this weird issue with my voice when it comes to speaking,” the brunet murmurs, and Minho actually has to lean a little bit to hear him.

“Um...now you’re a little quiet, but I think it’s okay. I can still hear you anyway from where I’m sitting.” Minho offers a reassuring smile.

Thomas blushes. “Sorry…”

“No need to apologize, haha. I’d let you know if I didn’t understand or hear you properly. It’s what you would’ve done, right?” Minho gently pats on Thomas’ thigh closer to him.

“Y-yeah.” Thomas casts a glance towards Minho’s hand, and he wonders if Minho is making a move on him. _I don’’t do cocky… He seems a little cocky...or does he?_

The train starts to move and the men look around to see that the car is still almost vacant as before.

“So where are you heading to, if you don’t mind me asking?” Minho inquires.

“Pasteas cafe, actually. I’m supposed to visit my sister and say hi to Brenda and Alby there. It may be possible that Newt will be there too.”

“Really? I wish I could go, but I have a commitment elsewhere. I live not too far from there. Or actually, I’m not that far from where you and Newt live. Just a couple blocks away. You know which stop it is, right?”

“Yeah, the Robinson stop,” Thomas replies. “Teresa texted me this morning.”

“Haha, alright, it’s the next stop actually, so you better get to the doors soon.” Minho looks as if he is about to say something, but decides against it.

“Okay, I’m up, I’m up,” Thomas picks up his bag and starts heading to the doors.

**_“Next stop is Robinson Avenue.”_ **

“Hey, wait, Thomas.”

Thomas turns around at his name being called.

“...Enjoy the boba.” Minho covers up his hesitation with a grin.

He furrows his brow at the line, wondering why there was a slight hesitation from Minho in the beginning. Nonetheless, he thanks him and tells him that it was great to finally meet him in person.

“Hopefully we would not have to run into each other again like today.” That earns a raised eyebrow and a dubious look from Minho. Thomas realizes his awkward wording and quickly amends. “Maybe see each other at the cafe, I mean. The metro just doesn’t seem like the right place for a connection, y’know? Whoa!”

The train slows to a halt as Thomas fights to maintain his balance against the pole.

A laugh from Minho catches Thomas off-guard. “Some sense of humor, you have. I like it, Thomas. Agreed. I hope to see you again at the cafe, but if I see you again in the metro, it can’t be helped, right?”

Thomas shrugs. “Yeah, true, I don’t mind running into you again here in the metro. But I’d like a proper meeting to be at a cafe or somethin-”

**_“...Robinson Avenue.”_ **

Minho winks. “It’s a date then.”

Thomas feels his breath hitch in his throat. “...I suppose it is,” he gives a small smile. The doors open, and the last thing Thomas sees of Minho before he exits the metro is the way he leans back with one arm resting on the headrest of the neighboring seat, smirking at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, there's Minho. :D
> 
> Alby's knock is "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits" yep.
> 
> Metro stops are names of artificial locations...unless there is such a system that has those stops, well I'll be damned.
> 
> The cafe name is also purely imaginative of my own.


End file.
